With only a week to go before they head to Ireland to defend The Ryder Cup, Darren Clarke, Padraig Harrington and José Maria Olazábal will headline the field of the XXXII Banco Madrid Vale Romano Open de Madrid Golf Masters.
The Ryder Cup trio, one quarter of Ian Woosnam’s 12-man Team to take on the USA at The K Club from September 22-24, will be the main focus of attention at La Moraleja II as Europe gears up to host golf’s most illustrious team event.
Clarke, Harrington and Olazábal are among the most experienced players in Woosnam’s squad and between them have an awesome record in The Ryder Cup. They have won 33 and a half points for Europe in 13 Ryder Cups and will be once more invaluable members of the 2006 Team.
While Harrington and Olazábal look to hone their games in Madrid as they prepare for The Ryder Cup, the XXXII Banco Madrid Vale Romano Open de Madrid Golf Masters will take on extra significance for Clarke.
The Ulsterman will be making his first appearance on The European Tour since his wife, Heather, died of cancer on August 13, 2006, and he will no doubt find inspiration from the huge level of support he has received from his family, friends, fellow professionals and golf fans from all over the world as he looks to prepare for his fifth Ryder Cup appearance.
Clarke, along with his great friend and one of his most trusted Ryder Cup partners Lee Westwood, was picked by Woosnam to join the ten automatic qualifiers for The Ryder Cup Team, and he will be determined to justify the faith his Captain has shown in him by rediscovering the touch and feel for the game that has made him one of the most naturally talented golfers in the world at La Moraleja II this week.
While the build up to The Ryder Cup will be impossible to ignore in the Spanish Capital this week, the XXXII Banco Madrid Vale Romano Open de Madrid Golf Masters also boasts an outstanding field on its own merit, with many of Europe’s best looking to join an illustrious list of former winners that includes Ryder Cup Captains Seve Ballesteros, Bernhard Langer and Woosnam.
The likes of Denmark’s Thomas Björn, the English trio of Nick Dougherty, Simon Dyson and Ian Poulter, Sweden’s Niclas Fasth and 1999 Open Champion Paul Lawrie will join Clarke and Harrington as favourites to contend for the title.
Olazábal will spearhead what is sure to be a formidable Spanish challenge with European Tour Golfer of the Month for August Alejandro Cañizares, Gonzalo Fernandez-Castaño and Miguel Angel Jiménez also bringing their considerable talents to La Moraleja II.
