Tournament: acciona Open de España presented by Madrid
Race to Dubai: Tournament 38 of 44
Back 9: Tournament 5 of 9
Venue: Club de Campo Villa de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
Prize Fund: US$3,250,000
Hashtag: #AccionaOpen #DPWT
Please click here to view full player interview transcripts.
Tommy Fleetwood is delighted to be back at the acciona Open de España presented by Madrid as he looks to turn some recent consistent play into an eighth DP World Tour title.
The World Number 12 is a man who knows his golfing history and has picked up some prestigious silverware himself, winning the Open de France in 2017 en route to claiming the Harry Vardon Trophy, and he arrives at Club de Campo Villa de Madrid fully aware of the history around him.
Since winning the Dubai Invitational in January, Fleetwood has finished third in the Masters Tournament, claimed a silver medal at the Paris Olympics and missed just one cut, but is hungry for more success as his season reaches a close.
His Ryder Cup team-mate Shane Lowry echoed those sentiments as he prepared to make his debut at this layout and first appearance at this event in over a decade.
The Irishman won the Zurich Classic of New Orleans alongside Rory McIlroy in April but would love to add a seventh DP World Tour win to his CV.
Meanwhile, defending champion Matthieu Pavon is happy to be back at the place it all began. His maiden wire-to-wire victory last year was the catalyst for the Frenchman to take his game to the next level winning on the PGA TOUR in January at the Farmers Insurance Open and representing his country at a home Olympic Games in July.
Major Champion Jon Rahm is one of several home players to head to Madrid as he aims to become the first four-time winner in the event’s 52-year history on the DP World Tour schedule.
Rahm, who claimed victories in 2018, 2019 and 2022, is not the only former Spanish champion in the field as Rafa Cabrera Bello returns to the scene of his latest title win in 2021.
Spain’s national open has also forged a reputation as one of the leading sustainable tournaments on the DP World Tour. Boasting strong sustainability credentials, the event employs a range of measures aimed at reducing the event’s carbon footprint, which title partner Acciona offsets as well as planting trees to create a positive impact of a similar magnitude to that footprint. Tournament organisers have also renewed the ISO 20121:2012 certification for the management of sustainable sports events until 2027 and more information is available here.
Player quotes
Tommy Fleetwood: It’s always such a beautiful feeling when you come back to Europe and in a city like Madrid at a golf course like this. Historical event, great golf course, great European city. Feels good to be back and playing this event. I think it’s everything that’s great about Europe and this tour. It’s an old event, it’s a beautiful trophy.
Excited to be here and test myself and playing with so many familiar faces from the over the years. So many great things about it.
I think you never know what’s around the corner in the game. One of the things that I’ve been sort of disappointed with this year: I played really, really well and I’ve played at a high, consistent level but I’ve always been half a step behind, if you like, from contending on a Sunday.
I’d love to have been up there just a bit more but that can change at any given time, and I think as long as I keep doing the things that I believe in, I’m sure that can change. A win could be around the corner at any time.
Shane Lowry: I feel like I’ve been all year, I’m playing pretty solid and having some nice results. But at the end of the day, I’m out there trying to win and get myself into position to win.
I feel like I’ve done that quite a bit this year, but I obviously haven’t knocked one off yet on my own. Helped Rory over the line at one stage. I would love to win, I’ve got four tournaments left in the season and my main goal for the next four tournaments is to try and get a win.
Obviously, this would be a great week to start. You look at this trophy, you look at the names, to add your name to that would be pretty cool.
Matthieu Pavon: It’s great. It’s a strange feeling. It’s the first time I’m defending a title. I’m really happy to be here. A lot of good memories. Played nine holes yesterday and the Pro-Am this morning, I can see all the shot I hit last year. Good memories only. It was pretty special walking down the golf course the last two days.
Yeah, that’s going to be a life-changer. The thing is I waited so long to win finally on the DP Tour, and we got that win. It gave us a little bit of momentum and confidence, and I kept building on that confidence. Finally arrived in America.
Just happy to be there, enjoying every moment I could because you never know when it’s going to end, really. I got my first win and it kind of opened the door to all the biggest events on the PGA TOUR, which was just unbelievable.
Jon Rahm: I’ve won here twice and it’s a course that I like, I grew up playing here. Out of all the amateur golf I have played in Spain, I feel especially comfortable with this course. It’s a narrow course where, on the two occasions I have won, it has been because I drove well off the tee and putted very well, that combination wins in many places. As a Spaniard, having so many good players come to the acciona Open de Espana is a source of pride for all of us.The fact that the public has so many options to see good and diverse players is great, and I’m happy that we are all here.
I’m very happy with how well everything turned out (speaking about the birth of his daughter) being able to bring the little one home and for the kids to meet her. I would have been sad if I had to leave and miss that moment. We were lucky to be able to do all that and still arrive at the tournament on time. Thank God both are in very good health and I’m very grateful for how well everything went.
