The Valderrama Golf Course

It was always going to be hard to follow up the 1997 Ryder Cup, but Valderrama was back at centre-stage just two years later.
As the venue for the third of the inaugural 1999 World Golf Championships - the American Express Championship - Spain’s premier course attracted an even more impressive international field and provided an enthralling finale featuring the irrepressible Tiger Woods and home favourite Miguel Angel Jimenez.

Tee of hole 10

Now, Valderrama is preparing to host a second American Express Championship, having established itself as a key component of the burgeoning world circuit.
Not to mention a historic benchmark in the development of the game in Spain, because that 32nd edition of the Ryder Cup in 1997 was the first time the prestigious tournament had been held outside the UK or US, and provided a fitting conclusion with the victory by a European team led by Severiano Ballesteros.
Already the venue for nine consecutive Volvo Masters - the then grand finale of the European Tour - Valderrama’s status as Europe’s number one course was consolidated by the Ryder Cup, and it was a logical choice to host the first World Golf Championship in Europe.

Designed by the doyen of course architects, the late Robert Trent Jones, Valderrama is located in the municipality of San Roque, in the province of Cádiz, at the western limits of the Costa del Sol, with the renowned Straits of Gibraltar visible in the near-distance.
It is an enticing challenge for the world’s top players and something of a golfing mecca for lesser mortals seeking to test their abilities to the limit.
They know they will find a course in prime condition, pampered and constantly improved under the watchful eye of president-founder Jaime Ortiz-Patiño, whose own reputation as an accomplished greenkeeper and environmentalist has been recognised with several international awards.