Pablo Larrazábal Corominas (born 15 May 1983) is a Spanish professional golfer who plays on the European Tour. He also played in the inaugural LIV Golf Invitational Series event at the Centurion Club.
| Pablo Larrazábal | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Larrazábal at the 2011 BMW International Open | |||
| Personal information | |||
| Full name | Pablo Larrazábal Corominas[1] | ||
| Born | 15 May 1983 Barcelona, Spain | ||
| Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||
| Weight | 79 kg (174 lb; 12.4 st) | ||
| Sporting nationality |  Spain | ||
| Residence | Barcelona, Spain | ||
| Career | |||
| Turned professional | 2004 | ||
| Current tour(s) | European Tour | ||
| Former tour(s) | Challenge Tour LIV Golf | ||
| Professional wins | 10 | ||
| Highest ranking | 50 (4 June 2023)[2] | ||
| Number of wins by tour | |||
| European Tour | 9 | ||
| Sunshine Tour | 2 | ||
| Other | 1 | ||
| Best results in major championships | |||
| Masters Tournament | DNP | ||
| PGA Championship | T45: 2011 | ||
| U.S. Open | CUT: 2014, 2023 | ||
| The Open Championship | T30: 2011 | ||
| Achievements and awards | |||
| |||
Early life
editLarrazábal was born in Barcelona, Spain. He attended high school in the United States and returned to Spain in 2002 with the intention of turning professional but his father made him work on the family fish farm in Cantabria to understand the value of money.[3]
Professional career
editLarrazábal turned professional in 2004.
2006–2007: Challenge Tour
editLarrazábal played in 8 events on the Challenge Tour in 2006 and made 7 cuts. His best finish came at the Vodafone Challenge where he was tied for seventh, his only top ten finish of the year. He earned €7,160 on the year and finished 138th on the money list.
Larrazábal played in 17 events in 2007 and made 10 cuts while recording two top 10 finishes and six top 25 finishes. His best finish came at the Postbank Challenge where he finished in fourth. He earned €21,596 on the year and finished 69th on the money list. Larrazábal finished in a tie for sixth at Q-School and earned his card for the European Tour's 2008 season.
2008: Rookie of the Year and first European Tour title
editIn his rookie season on tour, Larrazábal played in 28 events and made 17 cuts. Larrazábal won his first title on the European Tour at the Open de France where he led after all four rounds;[1] he had gained entry to the tournament through a 36-hole qualifier.[4] He also had an impressive finish at the Madrid Masters where he finished in third. Larrazábal recorded three top 10 finishes and 7 top 25 finishes. He finished in 18th on the Order of Merit, earning €960,858. This propelled him to the Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year award.
2009–2010: Inconsistency and struggle for form
editLarrazábal had an inconsistent year in 2009 on the European Tour, with only a single top ten finish, and three top 25 finishes. He finished ranked 86th on the inaugural Race to Dubai. The following season was not much better for Larrazábal, making 18 of 31 cuts and finishing in the top ten on three occasions. He earned €332,500 in the 2010 season and finished 88th in the Race to Dubai standings.
2011: Improved form and second European Tour win
editLarrazábal started the 2011 season with a fifth-place finish in India at the Avantha Masters before finishing third in his home country's national tournament, the Open de España finishing three strokes behind the winner Thomas Aiken. A month later he finished fourth at the Saab Wales Open shooting a 67 during the final round to move through the field and into the top five. In June 2011, Larrazábal won his second European Tour title at the BMW International Open in Munich beating compatriot Sergio García in a sudden death playoff. Both men entered the final round trailing by two strokes, but fired rounds of 68 to finish on sixteen under par. Larrazábal had a putt to win outright at the 72nd hole but that slipped by, allowing García to birdie the last to take them into a playoff. After both players made birdies at the 18th, on the first and second playoff holes, they advanced to the par three 12th and the par three 17th, where Larrazábal let two more ten footers slide by for the championship. However at the fifth extra hole, the par five 18th, García ran his eagle putt four feet past, with Larrazábal two feet away in three. García's birdie putt then lipped out and Larrazábal holed out for victory.[5]
This win came three weeks after Larrazábal had missed out in a playoff himself in an Open Championship qualifier at Sunningdale, but the win has ensured himself of a place at the 2011 Open Championship at Royal St. George's. Larrazábal ended the season ranked 17th on the Race to Dubai, his highest finish to date.
2012
editLarrazábals best finishes in 2012 were a pair of tied for second places: at the Reale Seguros Open de España in May and at the KLM Open in September.[6]
2014
editIn January 2014, Larrazábal won the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship by one stroke over Rory McIlroy and Phil Mickelson.[7] In a bizarre incident in April, Larrazábal was attacked by a swarm of hornets during the second round of the Maybank Malaysian Open and resorted to jumping into a lake to escape.[8] He received around 20 stings, but still managed to card a round of 68.[8]
2015
editIn June 2015, Larrazábal won his second BMW International Open in Germany. This was his fourth career title on the European Tour.
2019
editIn December, Larrazábal won the Alfred Dunhill Championship at Leopard Creek Country Club in South Africa by one stroke over Joel Sjöholm. This event was also co-sanctioned by the Sunshine Tour.[9]
2022
editLarrazábal claimed his sixth European Tour victory in March at the MyGolfLife Open in South Africa. He beat Jordan Smith with a birdie at the second extra hole of a playoff after Adri Arnaus had been eliminated on the first playoff hole.[10] A month later, at the ISPS Handa Championship in Spain, Larrazábal shot a final-round 62 to win by one shot ahead of Adrián Otaegui. It was his seventh European Tour win.[11]
2023
editIn April, Larrazábal won his eighth European Tour title at the Korea Championship by two strokes ahead of Marcus Helligkilde.[12] In May, he won the KLM Open in the Netherlands, winning by two shots over Adrián Otaegui.[13]
Personal life
editLarrazábal's older brother Alejandro won The Amateur Championship in 2002, with the teenage Pablo acting as caddy.[14] Their Venezuelan father Gustavo and Catalan mother Elena both played golf to a high standard.[3][15][1]
Larrazábal is a lifelong friend of former FC Barcelona player Andrés Iniesta, having attended La Masia together when they were younger.[16]
Professional wins (10)
editEuropean Tour wins (9)
edit| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory |
Runner(s)-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 29 Jun 2008 | Open de France Alstom | −15 (65-70-67-67=269) | 4 strokes |  Colin Montgomerie
|
| 2 | 26 Jun 2011 | BMW International Open | −16 (68-67-69-68=272) | Playoff | Sergio García
|
| 3 | 19 Jan 2014 | Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship | −14 (69-70-68-67=274) | 1 stroke |  Rory McIlroy,  Phil Mickelson
|
| 4 | 28 Jun 2015 | BMW International Open (2) | −17 (70-66-69-66=271) | 1 stroke |  Henrik Stenson
|
| 5 | 1 Dec 2019 (2020 season) |
Alfred Dunhill Championship1 | −8 (66-69-70-75=280) | 1 stroke | Joel Sjöholm
|
| 6 | 13 Mar 2022 | MyGolfLife Open1 | −22 (63-65-71-67=266) | Playoff | Adri Arnaus,  Jordan Smith
|
| 7 | 24 Apr 2022 | ISPS Handa Championship in Spain | −15 (67-68-68-62=265) | 1 stroke | Adrián Otaegui
|
| 8 | 30 Apr 2023 | Korea Championship2 | −12 (68-70-71-67=276) | 2 strokes |  Marcus Helligkilde
|
| 9 | 28 May 2023 | KLM Open | −13 (66-73-67-69=275) | 2 strokes | Adrián Otaegui
|
1Co-sanctioned by the Sunshine Tour
2Co-sanctioned by the Korean Tour
European Tour playoff record (2–1)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent(s) | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2011 | BMW International Open | Sergio García
|
Won with birdie on fifth extra hole |
| 2 | 2011 | Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles | Thomas Bjørn,  George Coetzee, Mark Foster,  Bernd Wiesberger
|
Bjørn won with birdie on fifth extra hole Foster eliminated by par on fourth hole Larrazábal eliminated by par on second hole Wiesberger eliminated by par on first hole |
| 3 | 2022 | MyGolfLife Open | Adri Arnaus, Jordan Smith
|
Won with birdie on second extra hole Arnaus eliminated by birdie on first hole |
Alps Tour wins (1)
edit| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory |
Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 28 Apr 2012 | Peugeot Alps de Barcelona | −16 (64-65-65=194) | 4 strokes | Ivó Giner
|
Results in major championships
editResults not in chronological order in 2020.
| Tournament | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | |||||||||||
| U.S. Open | CUT | ||||||||||
| The Open Championship | T70 | CUT | T30 | T45 | CUT | CUT | CUT | ||||
| PGA Championship | CUT | T45 | CUT | CUT | CUT | CUT | CUT |
| Tournament | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | |||||
| PGA Championship | CUT | T65 | |||
| U.S. Open | CUT | ||||
| The Open Championship | NT | CUT | CUT |
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied
NT = No tournament due to COVID-19 pandemic
Summary
edit| Tournament | Wins | 2nd | 3rd | Top-5 | Top-10 | Top-25 | Events | Cuts made |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| PGA Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 2 |
| U.S. Open | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| The Open Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 3 |
| Totals | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 5 |
- Most consecutive cuts made – 3 (2011 Open Championship – 2012 Open Championship)
- Longest streak of top-10s – 0
Results in World Golf Championships
editResults not in chronological order before 2015.
| Tournament | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Championship | 79 | T66 | T72 | 64 | |||||||||
| Match Play | T33 | NT1 | |||||||||||
| Invitational | 76 | 74 | T63 | T50 | |||||||||
| Champions | T20 | T14 | NT1 |
1Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic
QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play
NT = no tournament
"T" = tied
Note that the HSBC Champions did not become a WGC event until 2009.
Team appearances
editAmateur
- Eisenhower Trophy (representing Spain): 2000
- European Boys' Team Championship (representing Spain): 2001[17]
- European Youths' Team Championship (representing Spain): 2002[18]
Professional
- World Cup (representing Spain): 2008
- Royal Trophy (representing Europe): 2009
- Seve Trophy (representing Continental Europe): 2011
- EurAsia Cup (representing Europe): 2014
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c Quique Iglesias (30 June 2008). "Pablo Larrazábal gana en Versalles más que un torneo" [Pablo Larrazabal wins in Versailles more than a tournament]. Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 30 April 2019.
- ^ "Week 22 2023 Ending 4 Jun 2023" (pdf). OWGR. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
- ^ a b Morenilla, Juan (21 July 2008). "El bautismo de Larrazábal" [The baptism of Larrazabal]. El País (in Spanish). Retrieved 30 April 2019.
- ^ "Qualifications de l'Open de France Alstom | Résultat Final" [Open de France Alstom Qualification Final Result] (PDF) (in French). Fédération Française de Golf. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 December 2008.
- ^ "Larrazabal wins second European Tour title in Munich". European Tour. 26 June 2011. Retrieved 26 June 2011.
- ^ "Peter Hanson wins the KLM Open with eagle on final hole". BBC Sport. 9 September 2012. Retrieved 11 September 2012.
- ^ "Abu Dhabi Championship: Pablo Larrazabal wins by one shot". BBC Sport. 19 January 2014. Retrieved 20 January 2014.
- ^ a b "Pablo Larrazabal attacked by hornets at Malaysian Open". BBC Sport. 18 April 2014.
- ^ "Pablo Larrazabal wins Alfred Dunhill despite final day scare". BBC News. 1 December 2019. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
- ^ "Pablo Larrazabal wins playoff to claim sixth DP World Tour victory". ESPN. 13 March 2022.
- ^ "Local hero Larrazábal wins in Tarragona". European Tour. 24 April 2022.
- ^ "Pablo Larrazábal pulls away for Korea Championship title". ESPN. Associated Press. 30 April 2023. Retrieved 30 April 2023.
- ^ "KLM Open: Pablo Larrazabal wins ninth DP World Tour title after late birdie run in the Netherlands". Sky Sports. 28 May 2023. Retrieved 28 May 2023.
- ^ Reason, Mark (8 June 2002). "Amateur Championship: Larrazabal reigns for Spain". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 30 April 2019.
- ^ "Elena Corominas Viladomiu". EsportpèdiaCat. Retrieved 30 April 2019.
- ^ "Barcelona legend Iniesta enjoys golf interplay with former classmate Larrazábal in RAK". Khaleej Times. 23 January 2024. Retrieved 23 January 2024.
- ^ "European Boys' Team Championship – European Golf Association". 19 October 2015. Retrieved 22 January 2023.
- ^ "European Youths Team Championship". European Golf Association. 19 October 2015. Retrieved 20 September 2021.
External links
edit- Pablo Larrazábal at the European Tour official site
- Pablo Larrazábal at the Official World Golf Ranking official site