Francesco Molinari, Jayden Schaper, Bernd Wiesberger, Paul Waring, Martin Couvra and Matteo Manassero lead the international stars for the Estrella Damm Catalunya Championship at the Real Club de Golf El Prat from May 7-10.
Joining them, Alejandro del Rey and Gonzalo Fernández-Castaño, among others, form a strong Spanish contingent with impressive track records on the DP World Tour.
The presence of Molinari will be one of the tournament’s main attractions. His victory at the 2018 Open Championship made him the first Italian player to win a Major, and his performance at the 2018 Ryder Cup was one of the best in the competition’s recent history, as he secured a perfect five points from five matches.
Throughout his career, Molinari has enjoyed success on both sides of the Atlantic. He has six DP World Tour titles to his name, including the 2010 WGC-HSBC Champions, the 2012 Open de España and the 2016 BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth, as well as two victories on the PGA Tour.
The tournament will feature four players currently in the top ten of the 2026 Race to Dubai, including South Africa’s Jayden Schaper, ranked third, who is enjoying the best spell of his fledgling career after winning two consecutive titles in December: the Alfred Dunhill Championship and the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open.
You can still buy tickets to watch the 2026 Estrella Damm Catalunya Championship, with a host of home favourites set to tee it up in an international field of recognised DP World Tour players.
To find out more about the ticket options available, click here.
Joining him will be England’s Andy Sullivan, a four-time winner on the DP World Tour, and Austria’s Bernd Wiesberger, with nine DP World Tour titles, who arrives in fine form following his recent victory at the Volvo China Open. Another experienced winner is the American Luke List, with two PGA Tour victories.
Another standout name is Matteo Manassero. The Italian, who dazzled at the start of his career with four DP World Tour titles before the age of 21, staged one of the most remarkable comebacks on the circuit, crowned by his victory at the 2024 Jonsson Workwear Open after an 11-year drought.
After battling a shoulder injury in 2025, Paul Waring is looking to regain his form at the Estrella Damm Catalunya Championship. The Rolex Series winner returns to Spain, a country that has been kind to him in the past and where he has already achieved five top-ten finishes, with a second place at the 2022 Mallorca Golf Open as his best result.
Another player who, like Manassero in his day, has begun to make a name for himself at a very young age is France’s Martin Couvra, who at just 22 became the second player from his country to win the Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year Award. In 2025, Couvra fought a spectacular battle with Spain’s Ángel Ayora to claim the title of best rookie, and this year he has already finished three times in the top ten on the DP World Tour.
The Estrella Damm Catalunya Championship will mark the start of the Road to the Ryder Cup 2031 and will bring together in Barcelona several players with experience in this competition. For example, the aforementioned Molinari, a key member of the European team in 2010, 2012 and 2018.
Joining him are other names with a history in the biennial competition between Europe and the United States, such as Rafa Cabrera Bello (2016), Englishmen Sullivan (2016) and Ross Fisher (2010), and Austrian Wiesberger (2020). Edoardo Molinari, vice-captain for the 2023 and 2025 editions and set to serve again as Luke Donald’s right-hand man at Adare Manor in 2027, will also compete at El Prat, strengthening the tournament’s link with the future Ryder Cup at Camiral in 2031.
On the home front, the tournament features several of the Tour’s most prominent names, such as Pablo Larrazábal, with nine titles; Fernández-Castaño, with seven; Adrián Otaegui, with five; and Cabrera Bello, with four. They are joined by Nacho Elvira and Jorge Campillo, with three victories, and Alejandro del Rey, Eugenio Chacarra, Ángel Hidalgo and Adri Arnaus, each with one.
Del Rey arrives at the tournament having deservedly captured the media spotlight at the Volvo China Open after carding a spectacular 61 on the opening day. Ten years ago, the winner of the Ras Al Khaimah Championship finished second in the Barcelona Amateur Championship held at the Real Club de Golf El Prat, behind only Iván Cantero – undoubtedly a fond memory for both players as the Estrella Damm Catalunya Championship gets underway.
Among the 22 Spanish representatives are also Ayora, Alfredo García Heredia, Joel Moscatel, Albert Boneta, Santiago Tarrío, Manuel Elvira, Cantero, Sebastián García Rodríguez, Rocco Repetto, Quim Vidal and Vicente Mestre, who entered via the amateur qualifying tournament held at the Real Club de Golf El Prat.
Like Vidal and Mestre, Josep María “Pep” Serra is also a member of the tournament’s host club. Born in Terrassa, Serra is on the rise after turning professional last autumn. He competes on the Alps Tour, which he joined after finishing second in the qualifying school, and has already achieved notable results on this circuit and in the Spanish Professional Championship, where he finished fourth.
Tickets for the Estrella Damm Catalunya Championship (with a 25% discount for federation members, 50% off for young people aged 13 to 17, and free entry for children under 13) can be purchased here. Throughout the tournament, the ticket office at El Prat will be open.
