Antonio Garrido reminded everyone of the special place he enjoys in the history of the European Tour.

Garrido, and the father of current Tour member Ignacio, captured the 1972 Spanish Open at the Pals course in north-east Spain near Girona.

Spain's Antonio Garrido - winner of the 1972 Spanish Open and the first-ever European Tour event. (Photo - www.golfbytourmiss.com)

He became the European Tour’s official first-ever winner and still remembers the emotion in winning in a play-off.

“It is so long ago since I won the Spanish Open and my memory is not all that good but I do remember the play-off as I beat Valentin Barrios at the third extra hole,” he said.

“I holed a putt from 20 feet more or less.  It was a very, very emotional win and it is a dream for every player to win and the best thing you can do is to win your national open title.”

And when asked by www.golfbytourmiss.com to compare the current crop of Spanish born players to those who competed in the 70s, Garrido remarked there is little difference in the swing but with the big changes in the way players nowadays approach the game.

“The game itself has not really changed that much and Spain has been fortuante as we have had good players coming through year after year,” he said.

“The big difference is how the players of today play the game now.

“In our time it was all about skill and now it is all about strength and hitting the ball further.

“So the technique remains the same, it’s the strength and the equipment.”

Garrido, who was born in Madrid in 1944, had four other European Tour wins in his career after first capturing the Spanish Open including the 1977 Madrid Open.

He also had 17 other victories in his career including five Spanish PGA wins.

His son, Ignacio went close to success in the 2008 Spanish Open but losing out in a play-off to Ireland’s Peter Lawrie.