The Alps Tour is celebrating its 25th anniversary. It began in March 2001 with the victory of Frenchman Mickaël Dieu at the Memorial Richard Olalainty. To put it in perspective: a month later, Tiger Woods would achieve his second Masters Tournament of the five he has. Dieu, by the way, did not pursue a career in golf after that. His best result was a second place in the Challenge Tour in 2005 in Mexico, and that was it.
Since that first tournament in 2001, a total of 426 official Alps Tour events have been held, including the one that concluded this Monday in Cairo, which was won by Navarrese Javier Barcos. Indeed, his victory at the New Giza Open invites us to review the history of Spanish golf in this circuit. After all, Barcos has secured the 60th victory for the Armada in the Alps. Not bad. Just over 14 percent of their trophies have travelled to our country.
Moreover, Barcos, born in Estella but raised in golf between Navarra and La Rioja, has become the 42nd Spaniard to win at least once in this third division of world golf. The man who opened the account and achieved the first Spanish victory in the Alps was Fernando Roca in 2002, the year after its launch. He triumphed at the UBS Warburg Golf Open in Switzerland. Here is the complete list of Spanish winners to also serve as a tribute to all of them (in parentheses the number of victories in this circuit if more than one):
– Fernando Roca
– Francis Valera
– Agustín Domingo (3)
– José Manuel Lara
– Pedro Linhart
– José Antonio Bragulat (3)
– Carlos Balmaseda
– Álvaro Salto
– Miguel Pujalte
– Ignacio Sánchez Palencia
– Carlos García Simarro
– Santi Luna (2)
– Pablo Larrazábal
– Alfredo García Heredia (2)
– Raúl Quirós
– Borja Etchart (3)
– Jesús Legarrea (2)
– Pol Bech (2)
– Borja Virto (2)
– Eduardo Larrañaga
– Gerard Piris
– Pep Anglés
– Sebastián García Rodríguez (3)
– Adri Arnaus (2)
– Santi Tarrio (2)
– David Borda (2)
– Gonzalo Vicente
– Jacobo Pastor
– Lucas Vacarisas
– Alex del Rey
– Jordi García del Moral
– Ángel Hidalgo (2)
– Víctor García Broto
– Manu Morugán
– Quim Vidal
– José Manuel Pardo
– Alejandro Aguilera
– Mario Galiano
– Albert Boneta
– José Sintes
– Álvaro Hernández
– Javier Barcos
Interestingly, four of the Spanish winners in the Alps are now renowned caddies on the DP World Tour: Raúl Quirós with Larrazábal, Jesús Legarrea with Campillo, Pedro Linhart with Moscatel, and Gonzalo Vicente with Ángel Hidalgo. Additionally, eight others currently have the European Tour card: Albert Boneta, Ángel Hidalgo, Alex del Rey, Adri Arnaus, Sebas García Rodríguez, Alfredo García Heredia, Pablo Larrazábal, and Santi Tarrio. And three more have the Challenge card: Lucas Vacarisas, Quim Vidal, and Borja Virto.
It can be said that the Armada is on a roll in the Alps Tour. After all, our players have won five of the last eight tournaments held in this circuit, two of the first three of 2025, and three of the last five of 2024.
The start of the season has been excellent. Only once did Spanish golf have a similar start in the Alps. It was in 2009, when Pedro Linhart and José Manuel Lara won two of the first three on the calendar. It has been a magnificent starting point, although it will take a lot of effort to match the record of victories in a year in this Tour. It dates back to 2010: Miguel Pujalte, Agustín Domingo, Álvaro Salto, Juan Antonio Bragulat (2), and Carlos Balmaseda. That is the challenge for the Armada this year. So far, there are already two.
Who will achieve the 61st in the Alps? Who will be number 43?
Place your bets.
