• Charl Schwartzel won the inaugural Madrid Masters 12 months ago to claim his third European Tour title and second consecutive one in the Spanish capital. He claimed the 2007 Open de España at the Centro Nacional de Golf; the same venue being used this week.
• Should Schwartzel win for a second consecutive year, he would become the 31st different player in European Tour history to win the same European Tour event at two or more different venues.
• Should Schwartzel win for a second year he would become just the third South African to successfully defend a European Tour title, following Ernie Els (2002-03-04 Heineken Classic) and Trevor Immelman (2003-04 South African Open Championship).
• As a result of Rafael Cabrera-Bello’s victory in the Austrian Golf Open, Spain reached the milestone of 150 European Tour victories since The European Tour’s first season in 1972.
