Jon Rahm has Valderrama to thank for his career and the Spaniard is hoping the former Ryder Cup venue can stage his latest milestone when the LIV Golf League returns this week.
Rahm’s father only got into golf following a chance visit by some friends to the Andalucian venue to see Europe beating the United States in 1997.
The two-time major champion has finished in the top 10 on all eight of his starts in LIV Golf and admits it would be fitting to break his duck on home soil this weekend.
“It’s very exciting and if there was ever a place to get my first win, this would be the perfect week,” said Rahm, who is from Barrika in the Basque Country.
“It has a lot of history, and it would be great to enjoy the incredible list of Spanish champions that have performed well and become one of them.
“It’s probably the best golf course we have in Spain. It’s something that we all grew up wanting to play. That unfortunately wasn’t a possibility for me until I turned pro.
“But the legacy of the 1997 Ryder Cup, the fact that the European Tour championship, the Volvo Championship was hosted here, the tradition of how difficult a test it is makes it so unique.
“Two of my dad’s friends were present in the Ryder Cup and none of them had ever seen a golf course in their life. They were just in the area on vacation and heard of the Ryder Cup and came and watched.
“That’s how my dad’s friends started playing golf, how they convinced my dad to start playing golf and therefore why I play golf. All of those things are present in my mind when I come here.”
Despite waiting for his first win, Rahm has performed consistently well in his debut year in the LIV Golf League and sits second behind Joaquin Niemann in the individual standings.
The 29-year-old has three wins in his home country but never at Valderrama, which has been compared to the challenge posed by Augusta, where he won the Masters last year.
Fellow Green Jacket owner and compatriot Sergio Garcia is a three-time winner at Valderrama and is still seeking his first win in LIV Golf too.
England’s Tyrrell Hatton won the last event in Nashville and has also helped Rahm’s Legion XIII to second place in the team standings, behind Bryson DeChambeau’s Crushers.