Greg Norman group to buy Valderrama from Patino

FROM THE GOLFWEEK WEBSITE
Valderrama Golf Club, a former Ryder Cup venue, and its adjacent property in Sotogrande, Spain, has agreed to be purchased by the Greg Norman-owned Stripe Group.
Soto Properties, controlled by Spanish businessman Jamie Ortiz-Patiño, will sell the property for an undisclosed sum. The deal ISexpected to close within weeks.
The Stripe Group said it will purchase Valderrama to strengthen its position in the business of golf events in Europe. The course, site of the 1997 Ryder Cup, recently hosted the Andalucía Masters. Last year, the Stripe Group created the Dubai World Championship, the European Tour’s season-ending event.
It also plans to build a second course in nearby Castellar de la Frontera, near San Roque in southern Spain.
The member club remains under ownership of Ortiz-Patiño’s son, Felipe, for the next 40 years, according to Spanish newspaper Costa del Sol.
The Robert Trent Jones-designed course was constructed in 1974. In 1985 it was acquired by Ortiz-Patiño and expanded by Jones.
“Twenty-five years ago, we set out to create one of the world’s best golf courses,” Ortiz-Patiño said in a statment. “In passing this great course on to its next owner, it has always been my intention to find a buyer who will continue to follow my vision by constantly seeking to enhance the course and its surroundings. . . . In the Stripe Group, I have found such a buyer.”