Pablo Larrazábal is hoping to lean on both a unique home advantage and positives from last week in Madrid ahead of this week's Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucía Masters, which completes a two week Spanish swing on the DP World Tour.
The Spaniard arrives in southern Spain with plenty of connections to the first-time DP World Tour venue, with both caddie Raul and his dad living in close proximity to Real Club de Golf Sotogrande, which will play host to the ninth edition of tournament for the first time this week.
Somewhat surprisingly, those close ties to the venue don't mean Larrazábal has vast course knowledge of his own to call upon. In fact, even though the Sotogrande layout has a long history of hosting the prestigious amateur European Nations Cup - Copa Sotogrande, Larrazábal never played in it, and has not been to play the course at all since he was a teenager.
Despite his initial unfamiliarity, Larrazábal said it hasn't taken long to love this week's venue and he is looking forward to the challenge of a second week on home soil.
“My caddie lives up the road, my dad lives five minutes away and it’s the first time I’m playing this golf course," said the nine-time DP World Tour winner, who claimed his first victory on Spanish soil in 2022.
"Well, I actually think I played once when I was 13 or so, but it’s been 27 years without playing here. A couple of rounds around here is enough to really love this place and to look forward to a great challenge.
“This is a really cool place. It’s a beautiful piece of art. Having these golf courses around us, it’s not that famous, but this is a golden piece we have in the south of Spain."
Already a two-time winner on Tour this season, the 40-year-old has a lot of positives to draw on this week after ending a disappointing run of results with a top 20 last week in Madrid, his best result since May.
Currently 26th on the Race to Dubai Rankings, Larrazábal still has plenty to play for in the last four events of the regular season, including one of the top ten PGA TOUR cards available.
Hoping last week has him regaining form at the right time, Larrazabal is now looking forward to playing in front of home fans following overwhelming support in Madrid - whether they are rooting for him or for his caddie Raul.
“Last week was brilliant," added the nine-time Tour winner.
"To see so many kids, so many people on the golf course was great. Madrid, for a guy like me from Barcelona, you’re not expecting that much love from people from Madrid, but I had that love.
"I’m looking forward to this week. It’s a home game for my caddie, Raul, he lives just down the road and I’m expecting a lot of people rooting for Raul and if they’re rooting for Raul, they’re rooting for me.
“I’m looking forward to a great challenge, great home support, and hopefully my game is good enough to give them all that love back with decent golf.”
