Al spanish golf masculine has few left, of those considered great tournaments, to conquer: the PGA Championship and from this Friday, March 24, 2023, a WGC (World Golf Championships) that, if they do not reinvent themselves, the Dell Match Play de Austin (Texas) will be the last to play of the so-called world series created 24 years ago by the PGA Tour and the European Tour to mitigate the push of the world circuit that the Australian Greg Norman wanted to create then (he was aborted with these millionaire tournaments).
We say this because with the elimination of Jon Rahm in the group stage of the World Match Play Spanish golf has broken a (negative!) record of 0 wins in 88 World Series tournaments disputed since 1999read WGC Match Play (24 played with this one), WGC Championship (23), WGC Invitational (23), WGC Champions (11) and WGC World Cup (7).
The closest a Spanish golfer has been to winning one of these, likewise, millionaires and select tournaments have been four second places.
The first was Miguel Ángel Jiménez at the WGC American Express in Valderrama (Cádiz) in 1999; The man from Malaga lost in the playoffs against the then world number 1 and practically invincible Tiger Woods.
The World Golf Championships are no longer held as such (88 in total) after their creation in 1999
The second was in the Seville World Cup 2004where the ‘Pisha’ and the Castellón Sergio Garcia They finished runners-up in this competition behind the British duo formed by the current European captain of the Ryder Cup 2023, Luke Donald, y Paul Casey.
Ten years passed (2014) until Sergio Garcia had to surrender before a then plethoric Rory McIlroy in it WGC Bridgestone Invitational en Akron (Ohio).
The fourth ‘post shot’ was Jon Rahm at the WGC Dell Match Play at the Austin Country Club in 2017losing in the final (it was his debut in this tournament after turning professional a few weeks ago) against world number 1 Dustin Johnson. Of course, the Basque made DJ sweat until the end.
The first WGC was held in Carlsbad (California), in February 1999. and then the Match Play was sponsored by Andersen Consulting. Then it was followed by Accenture, Cadillac and Dell, with the 2020 edition not being played due to Covid-19.
He WGC American Express Championship It also made its debut in 1999 and played the first two years at Valderrama. Then CA, Cadillax, Mexico and Workday came as sponsors. It was no longer played in 2022.
He WGC Invitational It had NEC as its first sponsor, and then Bridgestone and FedEx, also stopping playing in 2022.
He WGC Champions, always under the umbrella of HSBC, was valid for 11 years for the world series and was held in China (not, therefore, in 2020, 2021 and 2022 due to the pandemic). It so happens that Sergio García won it, but as a scoring event only on the European Tour, in 2008, being WGC from 2009.
And finally, the prestigious World Cup (Canada Cup in the 50s and 60s and World Cup from the 70s) was WGC from 2000 to 2006.
