The Mallorca Golf Open returns this week for its second edition having debuted in 2021 as the DP World Tour makes its first visit to Son Muntaner Golf Club. Here are your five things to know.
Winther defends
Jeff Winther carded 62 twice on the way to celebrating an emotional debut DP World Tour victory at last year’s Mallorca Golf Open. A level-par final round of 70 proved enough to give the Dane a one-shot victory over Sweden’s Sebastian Söderberg and Spanish pair Jorge Campillo and Pep Angles. The Dane’s triumph was made even more memorable due to the on-site support of his wife and children. Writing in the Player Blog presented by Enterprise Rent-A-Car earlier this season, Winther explained how his six-year-old daughter had to get help after he and his wife got locked in their hotel room bathroom shortly before the final round. The breakthrough win helped Winther qualify for the season-ending DP World Tour Championship in Dubai for the first time. This time in Mallorca, Winther will seek to his repeat his triumph with the incentive of doing so at a new venue…
New venue
Son Muntaner Golf Club replaces Golf Santa Ponsa this week as host venue of the Mallorca Golf Open. The golf course, which is part of the European Tour Destinations network, is near to Palma, the capital of the Balearic Islands. The 6,952-yard par-71 course features three par fives and four par threes, including two measuring more than 210 yards. The popular holiday island of Mallorca is hosting a Tour event for the eighth time this year after last year’s tournament was the first held there for ten years.
Final event of the season in Spain
The DP World Tour’s late season Iberian Swing continues with the fifth and final DP World Tour event to be held on Spanish soil this season. The Mallorca Golf Open, which precedes next week’s Portugal Masters, brings a run of three consecutive tournaments in Spain to a close, after the acciona Open de España presented by Madrid and the Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucía Masters. All four events in Spain so far this season have had home winners.
Another first-time winner?
Winther became the 14th and final first-time winner of the 2021 DP World Tour season with his victory in Mallorca last year. There have been 12 so far this season, with just two events remaining before the 2022 campaign concludes next month with final Rolex Series event of the year, the DP World Tour Championship. Could a new venue result in a new champion emerging from the field?
Home stars aim to follow in Seve’s footsteps
The late, great Seve Ballesteros won in Mallorca on no fewer than three occasions, including in the first Tour event to be held there in 1988. Subsequent successes for Ballesteros followed in 1990 and 1992. Miguel Ángel Jiménez won twice on home ground in 1998 and 2003, while José María Olazábal secured his 23rd and final win on the DP World Tour in 2005. Two-time Tour winner Campillo was among three Spaniards in the top five on the leaderboard in last year’s event. Ryder Cup player Rafa Cabrera Bello, winner of last year’s acciona Open de España presented by Madrid, leads a strong Spanish presence this week.
