Alejandro Cañizares, the latest European Tour winner, has confirmed his presence at the NH Collection Open. After his dominating wire-to-wire performance in Morocco, the Spaniard will lead the home charge at La Reserva de Sotogrande where he arrives as favourite, brimming with confidence and with a good knowledge of the Cabell Robinson track.
Alejandro Cañizares: “La Reserva de Sotogrande is a course I know well. In 2008 I played the Spanish Championship and sometimes I practice there with my father. It is a longish course, fairly generous off the tee with quite a few elevation changes and undulated greens. Some holes are long; the sixth, for instance, is a three-wood par three. Wind is a big factor and it can really toughen up the course.
“The NH Collection Open is a very important event in this area. It may start modestly, but there is big room for growth, and hopefully more tournaments will return to Spain and boost Spanish golf. It was a shame to lose the Valderrama events which were so popular – the final between Sergio García and Miguel Ángel Jiménez (2011 Andalucía Masters) was the best tourist draw to the Costa del Sol as golf destination.
“When I turned pro in 2006, my dream was to win on the European Tour and I fulfilled it straight away at the Russian Open. I was only my third invite and I felt on top of the world, but it probably came too soon. It’s been nearly eight years of learning experience between my two victories, mainly building up confidence. I knew I had the game in me, but I had to learn to believe in myself. I have been working on it step by step all these years and watching the top players. When I had the opportunity of playing with them I realised that the big difference was not so much in their game as in their attitude. Attitude and self-belief are key.
“I have learnt a lot from players like Martin Kaymer, Tiger Woods or Henrik Stenson. Playing with Martin it was very obvious that in his game, solid as it is, attitude is more important than perfection.
“I played with Woods and Stenson in Turkey on Sunday. Although Tiger didn’t have a good day, he stayed focused and managed to shoot five under. He was really struggling off the tee, but he believed in himself and he had the right attitude.
“Ian Poulter is another player that I look up to and try to learn from. When he is on his game you can feel that he is hungry for victory, and that motivation makes him unstoppable. That, for me, is the right attitude every time you tee it up.
“I try to learn from all my fellow players. My father is my best example of perseverance and self-improvement. When he turned 50 he went alone to compete in America and he used to spend three months away from home. It must have been hard, but he never lost his motivation and he was very successful, usually among the top 10 in the rankings. I admired him.
“Another great example for all of us is José María Olazábal, one of the greats now close to 50, who keeps his love for the game and his desire to compete. His attitude is incredible; he works on his game like the first day, both on the range and in the gym.
“As for me, it’s hard to describe oneself as a player. I consider myself tenacious, hard-working and pretty solid from tee to green. I don’t usually make big mistakes and I feel comfortable around the greens but sometimes I need a bit more confidence with my putter. I also lack some distance and that’s something I want to improve
“I played very well in Morocco. Actually my confidence was really low coming into the tournament. I wasn’t hitting the ball well I wasn’t putting well and I was a little nervous about my golf, but I had a great session with my coach on Tuesday and spent an hour with Phil Kenyon on the putting green and that helped a lot. After that, the confidence started growing, the putts went in and the swing is there. It felt as if it was far away but it took five minutes to fix it. Thursday was one of the best golfing days of my career. On Sunday, following the tradition, I invited all the Spaniards to dinner and we had a great time.
“Right now I feel I’m in the best position to move forward and try to break into the world’s top 50 – that’s my next goal. In order to get there I need to achieve smaller objectives: I want to put myself in contention week after week and to finish consistently in the top 10. If I manage to stay grounded, keep my focus and try my best on every shot, the higher objectives will take care of themselves.”