Pablo Larrazábal, Adrian Otaegui, Nacho Elvira, Jorge Campillo and Álvaro Quirós have confirmed they will return to PGA Catalunya for the inaugural Catalunya Championship from April 28 – May 1.
All five have previously played at the world-renowned venue, which has hosted tournaments including three Opens de España (2000, 2009 and 2014) and nine Qualifying School Final Stages (2008-16), and they are eager to fight for the title over the recently upgraded Stadium Course.
Larrazábal is currently eighth in the DP World Tour Rankings after winning his sixth DP World Tour title at the MyGolfLife Open hosted by Pecanwood in South Africa and two further top fives this season. He said: "I’m very happy to return to PGA Catalunya; it is undoubtedly one of the best courses in Spain and deserved having the DP World Tour return.
“It is a course that I really like, and I have never been particularly good at it, but when I played the Opens I was very young and did not have the mentality I have now. I think I can do very well this time and I'm sure that, with the support at home, we can have a great week".
Adrian Otaegui, currently ranked 33rd, has fond memories of PGA Catalunya after winning his card there through Qualifying School in 2015. Since then he has won three times, most recently at the 2020 Scottish Championship. He said: "I'm really looking forward to playing in Spain. We have a few weeks off and I will arrive in good shape at the PGA, a course I love.
“The first memory I have is when I was 10 years old I played nine holes when the course was still fairly new. Then I won the Q School in 2015 there, I played very well all week, it was a very nice moment, one of those you never forget. For me, without a doubt, PGA Catalunya is among the top five courses in Spain. It is a course that is always in very good condition and where you have to play well; it has holes that you can take advantage of and make birdie, but also others that are complicated."
Nacho Elvira from Madrid, winner of the Cazoo Open supported by Gareth Bale in Wales last season, returns to Girona with great expectations "I played the PGA for an Open de España and a Q School final, and the course was completely different; the Open was played in very hard conditions but the course was spectacular.
“I don't know how they will prepare it for the Catalunya Championship but the PGA de Catalunya, if it has hard greens and a bit of rough, is an impressive test that I am looking forward to."
Jorge Campillo from Cáceres, is looking forward to returning to create new memories. The winner of the Trophee Hassan II in 2019 and the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters last season, said: "I have only played Q School once in my life, and it was in 2010 at the PGA. I was fourth or fifth after five very hard days of the tournament. In the sixth round I got the card but made 81... I did not leave happy at all. Then in the Spanish Open won by Jimenez, I just made the cut. However, it is a course I like, and I hope I will play better this time and I will be more satisfied".
Álvaro Quirós from Cadiz returns ready to regain the consistency that led him to win seven DP World Tour tournaments, including the 2010 Open de España and most recently the Rocco Forte Open - Verdura, Sicily in 2017.
He said: "It is always very nice to play in your own country and in this case when we are rather lacking in tournaments at this time of the year it is even nicer - and having two consecutive weeks in Spain is positive. PGA Catalunya is a great course that we've played on before. It’s always been a good test, hopefully we'll find ourselves with a course that's ready for the occasion."
Regularly ranked among the top 20 golf courses of Continental Europe, the Stadium Course at PGA Catalunya Golf and Wellness has benefited from a sustainability-focused €1million upgrade as Spain’s number one golf resort prepares to host the DP World Tour’s Catalunya Championship.
For more information please visit www.pgacatalunya.com
