ESTRELLA DAMM NA ANDALUCÍA MASTERS 2024

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Julien Guerrier secured a spectacular victory in the tenth edition of the Estrella Damm NA Andalucía Masters, held at the Real Club de Golf Sotogrande. The tournament went to 81 holes (72 regular holes and nine playoff holes) before the 39-year-old Frenchman claimed his first title on the DP World Tour.

In its second tournament as a DP World Tour venue, the Real Club de Golf Sotogrande course offered an impeccable presentation and served as the stage for an exciting and tense duel starring Jorge Campillo and Julien Guerrier on the decisive day.

The nerves, always present but in the background and controlled by the top players for much of the tournament, finally surfaced on Guerrier and Campillo's scorecards (it took Campillo 66 holes to record his first bogey), and the alternating successes and failures resulted in a tie at -21 at the end of the tournament. Afterward, the tension returned, now evenly distributed between the two players battling for the title, and it was Guerrier who finally released it, accompanied by tears, achieving victory on the ninth hole of the extension.

“It’s taken me a long time to get a win, and today I had to work really hard to achieve it. I was patient, I know what a good player Campillo is, and I’m very happy,” explained Guerrier, who mentioned how much he had been inspired by the victories of some of his teammates. “The recent wins of my compatriots Ravetto and Lacroix have helped me; I’ve thought about them and told myself, «I can do it too.»”.

It was inevitable that Jorge Campillo would offer the other side of the coin, battling until the very end and having victory within his grasp on some of the playoff holes. Even so, the Extremaduran finished satisfied despite the final setback.

“It’s a shame to lose a tournament in your own country, but we’ll keep trying. I’ll have more opportunities. Right now I’m disappointed, but it’s been a good week,” Campillo summarized.

“What angered me the most was the short putt I missed to win; it dropped lower than I expected. I played the 17th well, I hit some great shots, and in my opinion, I played better than him on every hole except the first and last, but that's how it goes. I had chances to win and I didn't take them.”.

Behind him, Daniel Brown finished two strokes back, Rasmus Højgaard and Jordan Smith three strokes back, and Jon Rahm, although he had already anticipated after the third round that his mission was almost impossible, fought hard to try to sow doubts in the rivals ahead of him, and finished sixth with -17, not too far from securing another victory in Spain.

“I haven’t been entirely comfortable this week, quite far from my best golf. It bothers me a bit to be up there but not be able to win, that’s just how it is,” Rahm summarized.

“The holes that seem a little easier, when you're trying to win, become more difficult, you doubt yourself more, and it happens that on a course where it's easy to make birdies, you tense up a bit and someone comes up behind you and makes few. I was far behind, minus 10 today was complicated, but I tried.”.

David Puig also matched Jon Rahm's -5 for the day, the best round among the Spaniards, to climb to twelfth place at -13, while Ángel Hidalgo shot two strokes under par to finish twentieth at -10 overall. Also making the cut were Eugenio Chacarra and Adrián Otaegui (twenty-eighth at -9), Pablo Larrazábal and Adri Arnaus (-4), Álex del Rey (even par), and Sebastián García (+5).

INSIDE THE STRINGS

A caddie used to winning marathons

This playoff between Guerrier and Campillo has already made DP World Tour history with its nine-hole duration, making it the longest alongside the 1989 Dutch Open (won by José María Olazábal) and the 2013 Spanish Open (won by Frenchman Raphael Jacquelin). Interestingly, a curious connection arises with the latter: Jacquelin's caddie in that tournament at El Saler was the same one who caddied Julien Guerrier to victory in this 2024 EDAM: Chris Lilley. This coincidence surely didn't go unnoticed by the champion, who was able to rely on this veteran caddie with a proven track record of emerging victorious from nail-biting finishes.

More than a victory for Guerrier

Julien Guerrier had to play 230 tournaments to finally claim his first DP World Tour title, but the wait was well worth it, as the Frenchman achieved a great deal with this victory. He reached his highest ever world ranking (top 110, his previous best being 150th); he became the first Frenchman to win the Estrella Damm NA Andalucía Masters; and he secured the 50th French victory on the DP World Tour and the third of the season. In short, a truly spectacular debut.

The Deputy Minister of Tourism, at the Estrella Damm NA Andalucía Masters

The Deputy Minister of Tourism and Foreign Affairs of Andalusia, Víctor González, visited the final day of the Estrella Damm NA Andalucía Masters, where he highlighted the Andalusian government's commitment to major competitions as a strategy for positioning the region "as a top-level destination" for sports tourism.

González highlighted the tournament's enormous impact on the local, provincial, and regional economy, not only during tournament week, as golf attracts a million visitors each year, with medium-to-long stays and high average daily spending. "Golf helps to mitigate seasonality, because it's possible to play practically 365 days a year on the more than 100 courses in the region.".

SOURCE: Tournament Organization