Open de España Golf 2026, Madrid: Tickets & Golf Weekend

Acciona Open de España presented by Madrid

Founded in 1912, the Open de España is the third-oldest professional golf tournament in continental Europe, behind The Open Championship in Britain and the French Open. According to the official DP World Tour page, the 2026 edition is the 7th of the 9 events that make up the « Back 9 » run-in — the antepenultimate leg, not the second-to-last as it’s sometimes reported: the DP World India Championship (15-18 October) and the Genesis Championship (22-25 October) both still follow before the season-ending Play-Offs in Abu Dhabi in November.

The format stays classic: 72 holes of stroke play over four days, with a cut after 36 holes and a Pro-Am on Wednesday 7 October. According to Ten Golf, the confirmed 2026 line-up includes Jon Rahm, a three-time champion (2018, 2019, 2022) who still holds the tournament scoring record at 259 (-25) from 2022, defending champion Marco Penge (2025 play-off winner over Daniel Brown), Tyrrell Hatton — fresh off his LIV Golf Andalucía win in June 2026 — and Shane Lowry, a hero of the 2025 Ryder Cup at Bethpage. Five of the last six editions have gone to Spanish golfers, a sign of how deeply this event is woven into the national game.

Highlights

• Jon Rahm chasing a 4th title, which would put him ahead of Seve Ballesteros in the tournament’s modern-era roll of honour
• Marco Penge, defending champion and 2025 Seve Ballesteros Award winner, returns to defend his crown
• All 72 holes played on the Negro course, designed by Javier Arana and opened in 1956

After a day in the grandstands at Club de Campo, extend the Spanish evening with a genuine flamenco show, one of the most-booked cultural experiences among visitors to Madrid.

Tickets, prices and getting there

According to the official Ayuntamiento de Madrid page, entry to the 2026 tournament is paid. A widely shared article claims free entry, buses and parking: that refers to the 2018 edition, held at Centro Nacional de Golf — not the 2026 edition at Club de Campo.

Concession rate for RFEG-registered golfers and under-16s. A €2 booking fee applies per ticket; sold exclusively via opendeespana.com.

Private cars aren’t allowed on site on tournament days. Free shuttles run every 15 minutes from 7am to 8pm from the roundabout at Avenida Complutense/Calle José Antonio Novais, backed up by EMT buses 160 and 161 and, a little further out, the Cercanías suburban train lines C7/C10 via Aravaca station. From Barajas Airport, on the opposite side of the city, the simplest route is metro line 8 to Nuevos Ministerios (15-20 minutes, €3 airport supplement), then a bus or taxi on to Moncloa-Aravaca.

Highlights

• €16.50 concession rate for RFEG-registered golfers and under-16s
• VIP hospitality with access to the 18th green terrace and catering by DO&CO
• Free or included shuttles and EMT buses — no private cars allowed on site

A Spanish public holiday right after the tournament

Monday 12 October 2026 is Spain’s Fiesta Nacional, confirmed by the Boletín Oficial del Estado, a public holiday across all 17 autonomous communities. Falling on a Monday, it creates a three-day « puente » (bridge weekend) that starts on Saturday 10 — the eve of the tournament’s final round. It isn’t a bank holiday in the UK, and there’s no October bank holiday in England to piggyback on either — but nothing stops you from booking two extra days off to turn the trip into a proper long weekend.

Real Club de Campo is a private club, closed to the public outside the tournament — there’s no hitting a ball there without an invite. To play a round of your own during the trip, several courses in the region stay open to visitors.

For clubs, it’s often cheaper to rent locally than to fly with your own set: Iberia charges €35-50 each way for a golf bag, Ryanair €40-50. Local rental services like Madrid Golf Rentals deliver straight to your hotel — a solid option if you’re mainly there to watch and only golfing as an extra. For a place to stay, Moncloa-Aravaca, the neighbourhood around the club, stays quiet and well connected to the centre: Eurostars Monte Real, Exe Moncloa, VP Sognio Metropolitano and Meliá Madrid Princesa are among the most recommended nearby addresses.

Highlights

• Retamares, designed by Olazábal, and La Herrería, beneath the Monastery of El Escorial, are the best public alternatives
• Renting clubs locally beats a €35-50 baggage surcharge per flight
• The 12 October puente lets you stretch the trip to Tuesday without breaking the flow of the journey

Culture, food and getting around

The Museo del Prado, entry €15 (free on certain Monday-to-Saturday slots, 6-8pm), remains the must-do cultural stop on a short trip. Casa de Campo, Madrid’s biggest park at over 1,700 hectares, sits right next to the Club de Campo neighbourhood — there’s a zoo and a theme park, though the cable car linking the two sites is closed for renovation until early 2027. On the food side, the capital’s signature dish is cocido madrileño, a three-course chickpea stew, with historic spots like Malacatín, open since 1895, or Lhardy, since 1839. Tipping isn’t expected in Spain — service is usually included, and 5-10% is plenty for those who want to leave something.

To get around town outside the tournament, a single EMT/Metro ticket costs €1.50-2, and the Abono Turístico (tourist pass, zone A) runs around €8-10 for a day. Spain sits at level 2 on the US State Department’s travel advisory scale — standard for a major European capital: the main thing to watch is pickpocketing in busy areas like Puerta del Sol or around Atocha station in the evening.

Highlights

• Free entry slots at the Prado in the late afternoon, Monday to Saturday, 6-8pm
• Casa de Campo is right by the Club de Campo neighbourhood
• Cocido madrileño at century-old spots like Malacatín or Lhardy