Alfredo García Heredia and his cousin Germán boarded a bus in Gijón just over a quarter of a century ago to watch live golf. The destination, Sotogrande, specifically the Real Club Valderrama. The tournament, WGC American Express.
It was 1999, and Alfredo was about to turn 18. He had been playing golf for four years. He was in the midst of a fever. He even traveled with a video camera, “the kind they had back then,” he clarifies to Ten Golf. He settled in the stands of the practice range and didn’t take his eyes off Tiger Woods. “I was impressed by what I saw. He didn’t make divots and left all the balls within a one-meter arc,” he recalls.
Alfredo hasn’t watched a live golf tournament as a fan since then. That was the first and last time. He doesn’t watch it on television either. You can count on one hand the times he’s sat in front of a screen to watch his sport. “I watched the final round of the 2014 Masters because the Swede Jonas Blixt was about to win, and my cousin Jorge Parada was his coach. Also, sometimes in Montecastillo, they’ve put on a television, and I’ve seen a bit, nothing more. Oh, well, yes, I watched and had a great time at the PNC Championship last month with Tiger Woods, his son, and the Langers. It was fun. I wanted to see how the Woods would celebrate if they won,” he confesses.
With this background, you can imagine that Alfredo, at 43, is hardly impressed by his debut at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic. He is not a fanboy, “except for Tiger,” he notes, and he is not passionate about golf history. It interests him little. He has other hobbies. Don’t expect expressions like his eyes shining or butterflies in his stomach in this situational report. There are no clichés with the Asturian. He handles it with absolute calm. Pure normality. “The day Alfredo debuts in a Major, they put a Holter on him to measure his heart rate, and it doesn’t go above 65,” Parada interjects.
“Look, I like being here because of the tournament’s scale, because it’s a Rolex Series, the setup, but I don’t give much importance to the history. If you ask me which Major I’d prefer to play, I’d say I don’t care… Probably the Masters because if you win, you’re invited for life, but nothing more. If you ask me to choose between winning the THE PLAYERS or the PGA Championship, I assure you I don’t care,” he explains.
Make no mistake, we’ve found the most atypical debutant in the history of the Dubai Desert Classic. First, because of his age, as it’s not common to debut in such a tournament at 43, having played all his life. And second, because over time, García Heredia has learned to put everything into perspective. He sees things with calm and perspective. Of course, he values being here, but his life doesn’t depend on it. He genuinely, and it’s not a pose or a way to relieve pressure, values other things. For example, fishing. He has traveled with all his gear. “Here in Dubai, I don’t think I’ll fish; I’ve been looking, and apparently, the police can kick you out, but in Ras al Khaimah and Bahrain, I have some areas already studied that are very good.”
Alfredo was very close to playing this tournament at the Emirates in 2022. He had just been promoted from the Challenge Tour and was the first reserve. In fact, he was able to practice on the course back then, although he didn’t play in the end. Do you think he has any regrets that he’s now going to resolve? “Not at all, that’s just how it was. What I like most is that it’s a nine-million-euro tournament and that my cousin has come to see me, and we can work together. If there were no cut, it would be perfect,” he jokes, though he really means it.
Perhaps because of this atypical and unimpressionable character, who knows, it’s why Alfredo has managed to form a very good relationship with Jon Rahm, despite the age difference and their different ways of seeing things. Few things interest Jon more than history. Few players watch more golf than Jon on television, whether live or recorded. It seems opposites attract. Today, Tuesday, they shared nine practice holes together. Surely, each in their own way, the two calmest debutants at the Dubai Desert Classic.
