The world-famous Volvo Masters championship dates back to 1988 and has been held 13 years at Valderrama. Participation is strictly based on merit. The European Tour’s top 60 players are qualified and each play the obligatory four rounds for scoring. There are no guests players and no defending champions or past winners compete if they are not in the ranking. In 2005, the prize fund was 4 million Euro and the first prize was ¤660,000.