Costa del Sol Golf News » andalucian masters

October, South Wales…

Golf News — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 21:20:12 +0000

Four weeks prior to the Andalucian Masters, an altogether bigger worldwide audience will be watching the Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor.
Speculation continues to rage – and a certain amount of sniggering still goes on – about just how bad the weather might be and what effect it will have on golf’s greatest showpiece. Well, the gloom and doomers might be right and it could be cold and wet and foggy and it might take an extra day to see who’s victorious. So what? We’ve had fog delays in places like Dubai and we recently had play stopped because of wind and rain in the Arizona desert so a bit of rain and fog at Celtic Manor is hardly going to be something new. All I’ll say is that having been on the course filming on a peaceful winter’s day at the end of last year, I looked around the natural amphitheatre created by the valley and imagined the roars of the galleries on different holes and felt confident that Celtic Manor and its owner Sir Terry Matthews might just have the last laugh.

October, Southern Spain…

Golf News — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 21:18:25 +0000

Isn’t it great to see Valderrama back on the European Tour schedule?
It’s like seeing an old masterpiece restored to its rightful position on the walls of one of the famous art galleries.
Don’t expect all the top players to agree with that because some of them have never had the success at Valderrama that would allow them the luxury of admiring its natural beauty.
They can put that right in the Andalucian Masters which, with a three million euro prize fund and a prime position in the schedule in the final stages of the Race to Dubai, is sure to attract one of the season’s strongest fields.
As I’ve said before on this page, it’s important for Southern Spain to maintain its reputation for staging world-class golf events because the link between that and the tourist business is surely significant.
If the weather is kind that last week in October and plenty of fans turn out on the weekend, anyone watching on television in the UK and throughout the world will be reminded of what the Costa del Sol has to offer.