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Sergio Garcia to host European Tour's Spanish Open at Valderrama

Count Sergio Garcia as the latest European player to become a tournament host on the European Tour.

On Wednesday, the European Tour and tournament organizers announced Garcia would host the Spanish Open, which will be played this year from April 14-17, the week after the Masters, at Valderrama.

Valderrama, which hosted the 1997 Ryder Cup and the 1999 WGC-American Express Championship, will be host of the Spanish Open for the first time.

“This is a new whole new way of working together with the European Tour and I am very proud to be a part of it,” Garcia said.

Celebrity players hosting tournaments in their home country has become a bit of a trend on the European Tour, with Ernie Els (South African Open), Rory McIlroy (Irish Open) and Paul Lawrie (Match Play) assuming that ambassador role. Luke Donald, Lee Westwood and Ian Poulter have teamed up to serve as a rotation of hosts for the revived British Masters.


Ryan Ballengee is a Yahoo Sports contributor. Find him on Facebook and Twitter.

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