Ignacio "Nacho" Elvira Mijares (born 17 February 1987) is a Spanish
professional golfer
A professional golfer is somebody who receives payments or financial rewards in the sport of golf that are directly related to their skill or reputation. A person who earns money by teaching or playing golf is traditionally considered a "golf pr ...
who plays on the
European Tour
The European Tour, currently titled as the DP World Tour for sponsorship reasons, and legally the PGA European Tour or the European Tour Group, is the leading men's professional golf tour in Europe. The organisation also operates the European ...
.
Amateur career
Elvira played college golf at
Texas A&M University
Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, TA&M, or TAMU) is a public university, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas, United States. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of ...
where he won one event and was a two-time
All-American
The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...
.
Professional career
Elvira played on the
Challenge Tour
The Challenge Tour, currently titled as the HotelPlanner Tour for sponsorship reasons and also sometimes referred to as the European Challenge Tour, is the second-tier men's professional golf tour in Europe. It is operated by the PGA European To ...
in 2012 and 2013, finishing 104th and then 14th. He won his first title in 2013 at
The Foshan Open in China, and finished 14th in the Order of Merit to gain a place on the
2014 European Tour
The 2014 European Tour was the 43rd season of the European Tour, the main professional golf tour in Europe since its inaugural season in 1972.
Changes for 2014
New tournaments for the 2014 season were the Made in Denmark, D+D Real Czech Masters ...
.
After a mediocre 2014
European Tour
The European Tour, currently titled as the DP World Tour for sponsorship reasons, and legally the PGA European Tour or the European Tour Group, is the leading men's professional golf tour in Europe. The organisation also operates the European ...
season in which he finished 121st, he returned to the Challenge Tour for 2015, where he won three times to earn an immediate return to the European Tour.
Since 2016 he has played on the European Tour. He lost a playoff at the 2016
Trophée Hassan II to
Wang Jeung-hun
Wang Jeung-hun or Wang Jung-hoon (; born 7 September 1995) is a South Korean professional golfer. He plays on the European and Asian Tours. He is from Seoul, South Korea.
In 2016, he won the European Tour's Trophée Hassan II on a sponsor exe ...
. In 2019, he lost in another sudden death playoff to
Scott Hend at the
Maybank Championship
The Maybank Championship was a professional golf tournament, co-sanctioned by the Asian Tour and the European Tour, that was played annually in Malaysia. The tournament was founded in 2016 by sponsors Maybank, who had previously sponsored the Mala ...
. He had held the 54-hole lead but went to the last hole of regulation play, one stroke behind Hend. During his approach to the 18th, a clap of thunder occurred during his backswing, resulting in him leaving a 30 foot putt for birdie. Play was then suspended for over an hour, but Elvira came back to sink the lengthy birdie putt to force a playoff. He lost on the first extra hole, when Hend made an up and down from the bunker for birdie.
In July 2021, Elvira beat
Justin Harding
Justin Adam Harding (born 9 February 1986) is a South African professional golfer.
Amateur career
Harding attended Paul Roos Gymnasium in Stellenbosch, South Africa, and played college golf at Lamar University in Texas and represented his countr ...
in a playoff to win the
Cazoo Open for his first European Tour victory.
He moved to a career best 126th in the
Official World Golf Ranking
The Official World Golf Ranking is a system for rating the performance level of professional golfers. It was started in 1986. The rankings are based on a player's position in individual tournaments (i.e. not pairs or team events) over a "rolling ...
in February 2017.
Amateur wins
*2008 Barona Intercollegiate Cup
Professional wins (6)
European Tour wins (2)
European Tour playoff record (1–3)
Challenge Tour wins (4)
Results in major championships
CUT = missed the half-way cut
Team appearances
Amateur
*
European Youths' Team Championship (representing Spain): 2006 (winners)
*
European Amateur Team Championship (representing Spain):
2007
2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year.
Events
January
* January 1
**Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...
,
2009
2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...
,
2010
The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...
,
2011
The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...
*
Eisenhower Trophy
The Eisenhower Trophy (World Men's Amateur Team Championships) is the biennial World Amateur Team Championship for men organized by the International Golf Federation. Since the tournament was first played in 1958 Eisenhower Trophy, 1958, it is nam ...
(representing Spain):
2010
The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...
*
Palmer Cup
The Palmer Cup is a 1200–1215 CE goblet from northern Syria or Jazira region, Jazira, and an example of early Islamic glass. It is sometimes described as "Ayyubid", since it corresponds to the time when the Ayyubids disputed control of areas of ...
(representing Europe):
2011
The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...
Source:
See also
*
2013 Challenge Tour graduates
*
2015 Challenge Tour graduates
*
*
List of golfers with most Challenge Tour wins
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Elvira, Nacho
Spanish male golfers
European Tour golfers
Texas A&M Aggies men's golfers
Golfers from Madrid
1987 births
Living people
20th-century Spanish people
21st-century Spanish sportsmen