Adriana García Terol is the youngest player at the Andalucía Costa del Sol Open de España. She is only 16 years old, although she appears older due to her maturity. She is playing at Guadalhorce with a well-deserved invitation as the Spanish champion in 2025. She is from Barcelona and, more specifically, from Sant Cugat. There, under the guidance of Marc Pérez Gelma, her caddie this week, she has been honing a swing that somewhat resembles Hideki Matsuyama‘s. She pauses and releases the whip-like swing at a blistering speed.
Adriana smiles when the resemblance is mentioned. “Thank you very much for the comparison, first of all. Yes, it’s true that I try to focus a lot on rhythm when I think about the swing and aim for that feeling of almost stopping at the top,” she tells Ten Golf after finishing the second round this Friday. Obviously, she doesn’t stop completely, like Matsuyama, but it seems like it. It’s like the microsecond of calm before unleashing the storm. Two days in the Open have been enough to prove to herself that this is her world and that she’s not far from the professionals. “In terms of play, I think I’m there more or less, maybe the main difference is in decision-making. The professionals are more confident, they make very few mistakes, and when they commit to a shot, they go all in,” she says.
Golf runs through her veins. Her parents, Alejandro and Susana, are golfers… and very good ones. They reached the national teams. Golf is in the air at her home. Adriana is very clear that she wants to be a professional. American universities have been vying for her. It’s no wonder. Spanish pedigree and on top of that, Spanish champion. She has been able to choose between Arizona State, Florida University, Florida State, and Texas. Finally, she opted for the latter, the alma mater of Tom Kite, Ben Crenshaw, Jordan Spieth, and Scottie Scheffler. Quite something. Among the women, they haven’t done badly either, with players like Sherri Steinhauer or Betsy Rawls, winners of Majors and members of the Hall of Fame.
The University of Texas, the Longhorns, are a guarantee of success. They excel in golf, but academically they also have a lot of prestige. Adriana decided almost more for the latter, as she likes studying and wants to pursue a Business degree. She will join after the summer of 2027.
Things haven’t gone too well for her in the first two rounds. It hasn’t been a disaster, far from it, but she demands more from herself. She is ambitious and likes to compete fiercely. In character, she takes after Jon Rahm. “Yes, it’s true, when things don’t go well for me or I miss a shot, I get angry. I also need to work on this, but it really helps me, that anger helps me refocus and bring out the best again,” she notes. Just like what happened to Rahm… and it still happens, although much more moderately.
An example of this character was what happened to her on Thursday in the first round. She was playing the 8th hole. Her shot to the green wasn’t the best, and she was left with a difficult approach. The referee imposed a penalty stroke for slow play (how easy it is to penalise amateurs!). She ended up making a cruel and painful triple bogey. She got angry and, far from giving up, reacted like a fighter. She told Marc she was going to finish the round with several birdies… and she made four, the first on the 9th hole, just in case there was any doubt about how well she also handles difficulties despite her youth.
Matsuyama’s pause, Rahm’s character, and Scheffler’s university. Not too bad to put on the CV.
