\"Vicente

\"Volvo World Match Play a redounded success\"

For Finca Cortesín president Vicente Rubio, the latest edition of the Volvo World Match Play Championship was a resounding success in a strictly sporting sense. “It was in all other aspects as well, but from a sporting point of view it was unsurpassable and difficult to improve on,” he said.

Having the best players in the world competing in the same tournament, unprecedented in the history of Spanish golf, was impressive,” he added. “We had the top three from the world ranking, six of the leading eight from that same list, and the 10 top players in the Race to Dubai (European Tour order of merit). This was, without doubt, an unprecedented field in Spain. And added to this was the fact that there could have been a change at the top of the world rankings if Luke Donald had overtaken Lee Westwood – though this didn’t happen in the end.

“As far as the impact of the tournament is concerned, we are very satisfied. Media coverage on a national level was more extensive than for the previous edition (in 2009). There was an increase in the TV broadcasts and number of hours on air. In addition, as well as coverage on Canal Plus (digital broadcaster) we were live on TVE and Teledeporte (state channels), etc. The impact outside Spain was also greater than in 2009.

“It is still too early to quantify what economic value the tournament had for Finca Cortesín. However, I can highlight the fact that we have doubled our golf revenues sin- ce last year, which is a clear indication that the tournament is having a major impact.

“Everyone in this industry is suffering, with most clubs reporting lower figures than last year, but in June we doubled our figures compared with the same month in 2010.

–What is the future of the tournament? How long do you believe it will continue to be held here? Initially, it was contracted for three years…

–Yes, the contract signed with Volvo was for three years, plus an option for three more. Right now we are not thinking in the long term. We are just working from year to year with the aim and intention of keeping the tournament here as long as possible.

This is a very individual and singular venue for a tournament that is also unique, particularly bearing in mind the limited field. We can offer a fully integrated venue for a tournament of this kind. The close proximity of all the necessary amenities – hotel, clubhouse, practice ground and the course itself – means players enjoy coming here because we can pamper and spoil them a lot, and because we have superb five-star installations and magnificent service.

We, together with Volvo and IMG, never talk about the end of the tournament at Finca Cortesín. We always talks about the following year, about the improvements we can make… And always with the expectation that the competition could remain here for the maximum number of years possible, provided of course that the three of us agree to our ongoing participation and roles in the event.

–Are the dates for next year the same as for 2011?

–Similar. They cannot be confirmed until the calendar is finalised, but we understand they will be very similar dates to this year’s – at the end of May, start of June… Always closely followed by the PGA at Wentworth.

–This year’s tournament had a great field but perhaps it was missing a big name from the US?

–What has happened is that the top US stars are now much less prominent, so trying to attract certain players makes less sense than it did a few years ago. Tiger, for example, has slipped to 17th place in the world. I’m sure he still has great media impact but perhaps not as much as before. I would be satisfied to always have a similar field to this year’s, whatever the nationalities.

Of course, we try to have the top three or four players in the world. If there were Americans among them, then we would need to make an effort to attract them. If not, then let them come from wherever; the important thing is that they are in the top ranked positions.

 

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