Rafael Nadal's all-white at Golf Son Gual

Rafa Nadal wears the Son Gual brand with pride

World number one tennis player, Rafael Nadal, swapped his tennis whites for golf whites when competing in the Torneo Blanco at the prestigious Golf Son Gual club in Mallorca.

The 2010 Wimbledon singles champion was relaxing ahead of his busy tennis schedule leading up to the US Open at Flushing Meadows at the end of the month, where he hopes to win his ninth Grand Slam title.

The annual Torneo Blanco event is open to members and VIP visitors with a white-only dress code. The ensuing on-course spectacle was enough to make any leading washing powder manufacturer jealous with envy and Nadal’s attendance put many of his fellow competitors in a spin.

Nadal is a frequent visitor to Son Gual and is the latest in a long line of celebrities charmed by the beauty, playability and serenity of the club, which is located just outside Palma on the sunshine isle.

Spanish World Cup winner and Liverpool goalkeeper Pepe Reina took time out after his exploits in South Africa; former footballers Jamie Redknapp, Andy Gray and Alan McInally were among a group of Sky Sports analysts and commentators who visited for an end-of-season golf day; and other familiar faces at the course have included comedian Jasper Carrott, tennis legend Boris Becker and German national football coach Joachim Löw.

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RECOGNITION FOR MALLORCA'S 'AUGUSTA'

Just two years after opening, Son Gual, Mallorca’s top golf course, is celebrating after making it into Golf World’s prestigious top 100 European courses list.

The 7,240-yard, Thomas Himmel-designed course is a new entry into the list at 91, a position which delighted managing director Andreas Pamer.

He said: “We have worked very hard to elevate Son Gual to be the best golf course on the island and one of the best in Spain. To achieve this recognition from such an influential magazine in such a short space of time is testament to the work put in by everybody here.

“But we will not sit back and congratulate ourselves; we will continue to offer the best golf possible and it is our intention to be regarded as the best course in Spain in time, and to continually improve our ranking within Golf World’s significant ratings.”

Son Gual was quickly recognised as a top course and was awarded the Mallorca Senior Open which it hosted for the first time in May, when former Ryder Cup captain Ian Woosnam compared the greens to those at Augusta National.

The 1991 Masters winner said: “It’s a bit like Augusta. There are a lot of slopes on the greens. You’ve got to get the ball on the right side of the hole – if you don’t you’ll be struggling. Miss it on the wrong side and you’re dead.”

Golf World’s description of the course said: “The course is laid out in two very distinctive halves, the front nine running along the extremity of the estate, with the second encompassed within its centre … making it one of the more spectacular courses in the Mediterranean region.”

The course’s reputation has been spreading far and wide with many celebrities taking time out to visit when on the island.

Liverpool winger Albert Riera, who used to live just down the road from the course, has gone on record to say it is his favourite course, and his fellow Mallorquine, tennis superstar Rafael Nadal, is also a regular visitor.

Golden Balls presenter Jasper Carrott and Sky Sports’ pundits Jamie Redknapp, Andy Gray, Alan McInally and Alan Smith are just some of the British celebrities to have been seen walking Son Gual’s pristine fairways in the last few months.

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ENDS

Information for journalists.

• Pictures of Golf Son Gual are available upon request

For further information on Golf Son Gual please contact Dave Bowers at the Azalea Group on 08700 330550, or email dave@theazaleagroup.com.