Pablo Larrazábal believes a win this week would put a cherry on the cake of his remarkable career as he tees it up in front of his family at his home club.
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The nine-time DP World Tour winner has been a member at Real Club de Golf El Prat since childhood and is relishing the return of golf’s global tour after 11 years, with the Estrella Damm Catalunya Championship opening the European Swing.
Much has changed in those years, with the Spaniard picking up six of his victories, including one at nearby INFINITUM – long-time host of the final stage of DP World Tour Qualifying School.
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Off the course, the 43-year-old has also become a father. His son Thiago, who turned two last month, is still waiting to see his dad lift a trophy, with Larrazábal’s most recent win coming at the KLM Open in 2023 – his fourth title in just over 12 months.
El Prat is hosting its 12th DP World Tour event this week, with Larrazábal finishing in a tie for third and inside the top 50 at the Open de España of 2011 and 2015 respectively.
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A strong Spanish contingent will tee it up alongside Larrazábal in Barcelona, including Dubai Invitational champion Nacho Elvira and former European Ryder Cup player Rafa Cabrera Bello, blending established winners with the country’s emerging generation of talent.
Among the most highly rated is Ángel Ayora, one of the rising stars of Spanish golf. The 21-year-old turned professional in 2023, winning his first title in the paid ranks on the HotelPlanner Tour a year later on his way to progressing to the DP World Tour. Since then, he has registered 14 top tens across 45 starts on golf’s global Tour, and arrives at Real Club de Golf El Prat as one of the pre-tournament favourites.
While this week will be a celebration of Spanish golf, it will also be tinged with sadness as Thursday marks the 15th anniversary of the death of the great Seve Ballesteros.
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Ballesteros passed away on the Saturday of the 2011 Open de España at El Prat and on Thursday players are invited to wear his signature white and navy, with a host of other tributes to the five-time Major champion taking place.
Player quotes
Pablo Larrazábal: “I cannot imagine winning in front of my wife, my friends, in front of my son. It’s the only thing that I have left in my career to win in front of my son, it will be a dream come true.
“It would mean a lot because obviously a win at home would be… I won one hour away from home, in INFINITUM. Number seven was in INFINITUM.
“It’s great to be back. It’s been 11 years since the last time we played and it’s great to see the golf course moving in the right direction.
“We got unlucky a little bit that the rain came a couple of days ago… the fairways got a little bit way more wide open and the greens a little bit slower than what we were expecting or what we wanted to.
“But it’s tree lined, tough, tough greens. It demands great strategy. It doesn’t demand super big-hitters. Obviously, always helps, but I think this golf course demands more strategy than others and knowing where you want to put the ball or where you want to miss around the greens.
“It’s going to be a great tournament. Hopefully the Barcelona crowds they come over and enjoy the tournament and Barcelona wins the league on Sunday.
“I don’t know if the people know but my dad always lived in Santander, so I practised a lot in Pedreña during summers. I spent a lot of time in Seve’s golf course. As I always said, he’s the captain of the boat.
“He left us too early but we try to make him proud, the way some of us play the game and he’s always going be remembered.
“I cannot believe that it’s been 15 years since he passed. And I remember playing here at the Spanish Open. I was doing well as well, back in the day. I remember having some very tough moments because he’s the one that took the flag of Spanish golf and obviously European Tour golf around the world and especially in the Ryder Cup and in Augusta as well.”
