Spanish golf breathes youth, freshness and future. Jon Rahm (27 years old) carries the flag, but behind come others like Alejandro del Rey, the recently debuted professionals Eugenio Lopez Chacarra or David Puig, or talented amateurs like Luis Masaveu, Quim Vidal, Jose Luis Ballester, Albert Boneta, Jorge Siyuan, Jaime Montojo, Javier Barcos or Alejandro Aguilera. The last six mentioned gave Spain in England, after defeating Sweden in the final, their fifth medal in an absolute Men’s European Team Championship.
Two of them, Masaveu (19 years old) and Vidal (22), are present by invitation at the Acciona Open de España… and Madrid and Catalan are embroidering it in their first foray into a DP World Tour tournament. Both will be the weekend after successfully passing the cut located at -2. “I hit him very long and very straight, about 285 meters of flight,” explains Luis when asked about his sensational tee shots. Seeing his face after signing 134 shots (-8) the satisfaction with his game was evident: “With this public and with Alejandro Aguilera as caddy I am enjoying myself a lot. I have felt very comfortable. I have been aggressive in my game, without pressure. Making the cut is a dream.”
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The same feeling on the part of Vidal (139 strokes, -3), who has finished his university studies in Nevada and sees his transition to professionalism close: “He is being spectacular. I am very grateful to the RFEG for giving me the opportunity to debut in such a big tournament and here in Europe”. Both share a goal and playing the weekend far exceeds it. “It would be a dream to share a game with Rahm or Fleetwood,” he says. Masaveu, who did not choose to train in the US and lives in Madrid supervised by his work team at RCG La Moraleja, as well as by the Madrid and Spanish Federations. His reference and idol of him? The ‘Lion of Barrika’: “Every child who plays golf dreams of doing the same thing as Jon, winning a major and being number one in the world”.
