Ángel Ayora will become this Thursday the latest Spaniard to debut in a regular tournament of the PGA Tour. The 19-year-old golfer from Marbella will do so through an invitation to the Puerto Rico Open, on the Grand Reserve Golf Club course. The premiere of this promising product from the sensational La Cañada quarry gives us the opportunity to start a fantastic journey through the conquest of the west of Spanish golf.
We have dived here and there to find each and every one of the Spanish golfers who one day played a regular PGA Tour tournament. However, a warning in advance: we would like the list to be definitive and absolute, but we cannot guarantee it. It is impossible to be certain because not even the American circuit itself has records of its entire history. They are all who are, yes, but maybe not all who are. Even so, we can assure you that the journey is worth it.
Before starting the engines, it is necessary to make two clarifications:
– The PGA Tour officially started in August 1968, although it did not receive its current name until 1975. It is the successor to the circuit of the Association of American Professionals whose origin dates back to 1916. The PGA Tour was created after a split of the professionals who were not happy with the way the Tour was run. The previous circuit disappears.
For this report, we consider the PGA Tour from 1968 onwards, among other things because it is practically impossible to find exhaustive and reliable data from before.
– The list only counts the regular tournaments of the PGA Tour. It tries to place in time the first regular tournament of each Spanish golfer, that is, excluding Majors, World Championships or World Cups.
Let’s get to it. According to the Ten Golf list, we insist, which should not be considered absolute (but almost), since 1968 at least one regular PGA Tour tournament has been played by a total of 41 Spanish golfers, so Ayora this Thursday will become number 42 of the Armada. Let’s review all the names in chronological order of their first participation in a regular event found in this search.
1– Ramón Sota. January 1970. He played the Bing Crosby Pro Am. What better way to open this impressive list than in Pebble Beach. He misses the cut. He played more regular PGA Tour tournaments. A legend of Spanish golf. Uncle of Severiano Ballesteros.
2– Manuel de la Torre. March 1970. Greater Jacksonville Open. He misses the cut. Son of Ángel de la Torre, the great pioneer of Spanish golf, first to play a Major in 1920 (British Open). He was one of the most reputable instructors in the United States. He played many PGA Championships and some regular tournaments.
3– Ángel Gallardo. January 1971. Bing Crosby Pro Am. He misses the cut. He also played several regular tournaments in the United States. A globetrotter with victories on practically all continents.
4– Manuel Piñero. November 1973. World Open Championship. He misses the cut. Piñero was invited in 1982 to play three PGA Tour tournaments in Florida, at Bay Hill, Doral and Palm Beach. He got very good results. So much so that with one more cut he would have got the PGA Tour card. He could have asked for an invitation from McCormack, his agent, in fact there were those who suggested it, including his wife, but Manolo preferred to stay on the European Tour. “That wasn’t for me,” he told Ten Golf.
5– Francisco Abreu. November 1973. World Open Championship. Yes, indeed, he travelled with Piñero and both made their regular debut on the PGA Tour in this tournament. He also misses the cut.
6– Valentín Barrios. March 1974. Doral Eastern Open. He misses the cut. Valentín became very friendly with Jack Nicklaus during the construction of La Moraleja and the Golden Bear managed to get him invited to some tournaments. He would play again the following year in Doral.
7– Seve Ballesteros. April 1978. Greater Greensboro Open. It was the Cantabrian’s first regular tournament and the genius, true to his magic, won it. There are no more words, your honour.
8– José María Olazábal. April 1987. Greater Greensboro Open. Of course, the golfer from Hondarribia was going to follow in the footsteps of his great friend Seve. He made his regular tournament debut in this same tournament and made the cut, although he finished far from the lead.
9– Miguel Ángel Martín. August 1988. The International. He finishes in 34th place. The golfer from Huelva played more tournaments on the American circuit and got the card in 1989 after passing the School.
10– Pepín Rivero. August 1988. The International.
11– José María Cañizares. August 1988. The International. Cañi would later have a sensational career on the PGA Tour Champions.
12– Miguel Ángel Jiménez. June 1995. Kemper Open. He makes the cut and finishes in 64th place. He also tried the American route one year, but did not adapt and returned to Europe.
13– Sergio García. May 1999. GTE Byron Nelson Classic. He finishes in third position. Needless to say, he is the Spanish golfer who has played the most PGA Tour tournaments to date.
14– Álex Larrazábal. June 2003. Memorial Tournament. He misses the cut. The older brother of the Larrazábals earned the invitations with his victory in the British Amateur.
15– Nacho Garrido. September 2003. Valero Texas Open. He misses the cut.
16– Gonzalo Fernández Castaño. February 2006. Chrysler Classic of Tucson. He misses the cut.
17– Alejandro Cañizares. February 2007. FBR Open. He finishes in 23rd place. The golfer from Malaga had the PGA Tour card for one year through the School.
18– Pablo Martín Benavides. February 2007. Mayakoba Golf Classic. He plays it still as an amateur. His exceptional university career with Oklahoma State endorses him.
19– José Manuel Lara. February 2007. Mayakoba Golf Classic.
20– Álvaro Quirós. February 2008. Mayakoba Golf Classic. 28th place. That same year he would play the Puerto Rico Open and finish in that same position.
21– Santi Luna. February 2008. Mayakoba Golf Classic. He played this tournament several years.
22– Pablo Larrazábal. March 2009. Mayakoba Golf Classic.
23– Pedro Oriol. February 2010. Mayakoba Golf Classic.
24– Jorge Campillo. February 2010. Mayakoba Golf Classic.
25– Íñigo Urquizu. February 2011. Mayakoba Golf Classic.
26– Rafa Cabrera Bello. February 2013. AT&T Pebble Beach.
27– Jordi García Pinto. November 2013. Mayakoba Golf Classic.
28– Jon Rahm. November 2014. Mayakoba Golf Classic. Second Spaniard after Pablo Martín to debut as an amateur in a regular PGA Tour tournament. He missed the cut. This is where it all started.
29– Nacho Elvira. November 2015. Mayakoba Golf Classic.
30– Javier Colomo. November 2017. Mayakoba Golf Classic.
31– Adri Arnaus. November 2018. Mayakoba Golf Classic.
32– Eugenio López Chacarra. November 2018. Mayakoba Golf Classic. The third Spaniard to debut in a PGA Tour tournament as an amateur.
33– Santi Tarrio. December 2020. Mayakoba Golf Classic.
34– Samuel del Val. November 2021. Mayakoba Golf Classic.
35– Enrique Marín. November 2022. Mayakoba Golf Classic.
36– Adrián Otaegui. July 2022. Genesis Scottish Open. He started that year as a hybrid tournament between the DP World Tour and the PGA Tour.
37– Carlos Pigem. July 2022. Barbasol Championship. Another hybrid. This one was played in the United States the same week as the Genesis.
38– Alfredo García Heredia. July 2022. Barbasol Championship.
39– Sebastián García Rodríguez. July 2022. Barbasol Championship.
40– Ángel Hidalgo. March 2023. Corales Puntacana.
41– Álex del Rey. July 2023. Barbasol Championship.
42– Ángel Ayora. March 2023. Puerto Rico Open.
Some notes added to the list:
– It is very possible that Ángel de la Torre, Ángel Miguel and Sebastián Miguel played some regular tournament on the American circuit before 1970, although we have not found records. We will continue searching.
– Nor should we rule out that Ramón Sota, Manuel de la Torre or Ángel Gallardo also debuted in that PGA Tour before 1970.
– It is obvious that the Mayakoba Golf Classic is the tournament that has given the most opportunities to Spaniards to make their entry into the PGA Tour. There have debuted no less than 17 Spaniards, more than a third of the total.
PS: Like on television programmes, Ten Golf has a ‘phone for those mentioned’. Anyone, or a relative of anyone, who believes they should be on this list and is not, can contact this house via the email redaccion@ten-golf.es. We will be delighted to do justice.
