Diecisiete jugadores españoles participan a partir de este lunes en la 129ª edición de The Amateur, una de las competiciones más prestigiosas y antiguas del mundo que se celebra en Ballyliffin Golf Club, al norte de Irlanda. El formato de juego y la calidad de los 250 golfistas implicados hacen de este uno de los torneos más vistosos del año a nivel internacional.

La delegación española está compuesta por el castellonense José Luis Ballester, los catalanes Alejandro de Castro, Josep María Serra y Marcel Fonseca, los madrileños Luis Masaveu, Sergio Jiménez, Jorge Hao, Álvaro Portillo, Jaime Montojo, Pablo Ereño y Álvaro Pastor, el navarro Javier Barcos, el andaluz Alberto Domínguez, el gallego Ignacio Mateo, el alicantino Alejandro Andreu, y los asturianos Esteban Vázquez y Pablo Alperi; este último acude con la resaca de su reciente triunfo en el Campeonato de España Absoluto.

This group has the support of captain Luis Méndez, official Carlos de Corral and professional golfer Gonzalo Fernández-Castaño in technical roles, and faces tremendous competition from 250 other players from some thirty countries who are seeking the additional prize of securing a place in the next professional British Open, another incentive for the Spanish players who have traveled there.

They will all be competing with the memory of the triumphs of José María Olazábal (1984), Sergio García (1998) and Alejandro Larrazábal himself (2002), which should serve as an incentive for the Spanish representatives in British lands.

This prestigious tournament is played in stroke play format over two days. At that point, the knockout rounds for the title will begin, with only the 64 golfers who qualify participating.

More information about the tournament can be found below in the Related Links section.