The Open de España will be the first tournament that Shane Lowry competes in after becoming Europe’s absolute hero in the Ryder Cup that concluded last Sunday at Bethpage. The Irish golfer, recovering two holes in the final stretch of his singles match with Russell Henley, secured the decisive half point with a masterful birdie on the 18th hole and elevated Europe to the heights. Thirteen years later, a Ryder was won away from home again… and not just anywhere, no. In New York.
Well, the Open de España reaches a new dimension with the possibility of seeing the Irishman live after his feat, specifically, after doing the best he has ever done on a golf course, as he himself confessed to his caddie on that glorious Sunday. An extra incentive that will undoubtedly increase the interest of fans to watch the tournament live at the Club de Campo Villa de Madrid.
It will also be the first time we can see Jon Rahm live after winning the Ryder Cup and being crowned individual and team champion of LIV Golf. Completing the trio of Ryder men at the Open de España is Englishman Tyrrell Hatton, Rahm’s teammate on the Saudi circuit. A luxury participation also joined by Patrick Reed and Joaquín Niemann, as TenGolf reported last week.
We will have to see how Rahm, Lowry, and Hatton arrive at the Open de España after the high-spirited celebrations prompted by the victory in the Ryder Cup. Both Lowry and Hatton have a well-earned reputation for giving their all both on the golf course and in celebrations. In this regard, speaking of Ryder, last year’s edition in Madrid becomes even more relevant, when almost half of the team that won the trophy at Bethpage competed: Rahm, Hatton, Fleetwood, Straka, and Lowry himself.
It is true, however, that Hatton will play another golf tournament beforehand. It is the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship which takes place from this Thursday until Sunday at St Andrews, Carnoustie, and Kingsbarns. There, we will have four Ryder Cup champion players. Alongside Hatton, his compatriots Fleetwood, Fitzpatrick, and MacIntyre will be present.
Regarding the field of the Dunhill Links, a tournament played in Pro Am format, which always attracts many celebrities and distributes a significant prize fund of five million dollars, beyond the honour of being crowned champion at the Old Course, it also features 17 players who have competed in LIV Golf this year. Quite something. More than a quarter of the Saudi circuit.
The list includes Cameron Smith, Patrick Reed, Tyrrell Hatton, Thomas Pieters, Adrian Meronk, Tom CKibbin, David Puig, Bubba Watson, Peter Uihlein, Brendan Steele, Dustin Johnson, Matt Jones, Martin Kaymer, Louis Oosthuizen, Caleb Surratt, Frederik Kjetrupp, and Brooks Koepka. By the way, Kjetrupp has just been eliminated in the first stage of the DP World Tour School held last week in Denmark.
On the other hand, we will have eleven Spaniards in Scotland: Ayora, Del Rey, Hidalgo, the Elvira brothers, Campillo, Larrazábal, Puig, García Heredia, Rafa Cabrera Bello, and Moscatel.
