Spain once again has a professional circuit eight years after the last one was played. The Hotel Gran Meliá Fénix in Madrid hosted the presentation of the 1st Meliá Hotels International Premium Professional Circuit 2016, which will consist of seven rounds plus a National Grand Final, which will cover some of the best courses in Spain, and with a prize pool of 70,000 euros per tournament. This was announced by Jorge Piera, CEO of Galera Group and Director of the Circuit, who was very satisfied with the response of the sponsors and the joint support of the Professional Golf Association of Spain (PGA) and the Royal Spanish Golf Federation (RFEG).
“After more than 14 years organizing amateur circuits, we wanted to take a step further. The idea of a Professional Circuit had been around for some years; we just had to wait for the right time and the right people to take the leap. We have come to stay and grow together. This year there are seven events, plus the Final; but we also support a women’s LETAS tournament in Augas Santas; and for 2017 we will grow to 12 tournaments,” said Piera during his speech.
The circuit will begin at Golf Maioris, in Llucmajor (Balearic Islands), from March 1 to 4, coinciding with the tenth anniversary of the course, which presented its credentials in 2006 as the second course of Pula Golf Group and designed by Romeo Sala. A par 72 of just over 6,300 meters, complicated and requiring a lot of precision to avoid falling into any of its four lakes or its two island greens.
Lucas Montaner, General Manager of Gambito Golf and Tournament Director, presented the most technical details of the Circuit. All tournaments will be played in three rounds, 54 holes, to be valid for the National Ranking, with a Pro-Am for couples in the third round to be played by the top fifty professionals, more tied, who pass the cut. The tournaments will have an amount of 70,000 euros in prizes, 10,000 for the winner; and will be open to all PGA’s in Europe, to all Spanish and European professionals, women will compete on equal terms with their regulations and there will be places for amateur players. For this first Maioris event, registration closes on February 23rd at 12:00 noon.
Jorge Ballesté, president of the Angelini company that is sponsoring this first tournament as the Leotrón Grand Prix, the polyvitamin brand of Angelini Farmacéutica, did not hesitate to support this initiative. “We have worked a lot with Gambito Golf in the National Premium Golf Circuit and when he presented us with the idea we were very pleased to take the step into the professional world.”
Jordi de las Moras, Vacation Sales Director of the Meliá group, “we have been committed to and identified with golf for more than a decade. 35 of our hotels have golf nearby, and we have recently acquired the Meliá Hacienda del Conde, in Tenerife, with the Buenavista course, designed by Seve Ballesteros. I think it’s time to go a little further and get involved with professional golf, with the important support offered by the PGA and the REFG.”
David Pastor, president of the Professional Golfers’ Association of Spain, PGA, was pleased and proud of this Tour. “It is a great image for our sport that this is a Circuit that has come to stay. I especially want to emphasize that it is important that it is open to the PGA’s of Europe; outside Spain there are no national projects of this magnitude. And above all I am satisfied with the great international dimension it is going to have. The fact that it is also open to women is a very important step, and produces very positive synergies for golf in general”.
Gonzaga Escauriaza, president of the Royal Spanish Golf Federation, praised this initiative. “After eight years without a national circuit, this is good news for the world of golf; and especially coming from those who come: 14 years in the market offer a guarantee of experience and professionalism. And above all, I echo the words of Jorge Piera, that they are here to stay. The fact that it is open to European players opens up many possibilities for our promising young players to compete at the highest level and, why not, make the leap to other circuits such as the Challenge or the Tour”.
Leave a Reply