The president of Turismo Costa del Sol, Francisco Salado has highlighted the opportunity that the Race to Costa del Sol represents for the destination, after the Ladies European Tour has announced its official calendar for the year 2021, which will feature 27 tournaments in 19 countries, the Solheim Cup and the golf competition of the Summer Olympic Games.
For Francisco Salado, “this news brings us a breath of fresh air in the midst of the situation we are living and, for us it is a pride to be able to demonstrate once again that the Costa del Sol is ready to host events of this magnitude, that the commitment of this entity remains firm regarding the golf segment and, in particular, women’s golf, and that our courses are at a maximum level of training thanks to the efforts of the professionals who work in them”.
In these events, players will compete for a total prize purse of €19 million, two more than the figure announced for 2020 before the arrival of the covid-19 pandemic and six more than the amount offered in 2019.
For the second consecutive year, Costa del Sol is a priority partner of the circuit and names its order of merit, the Race to Costa del Sol. This ranking will again be the backbone of the season of this international women’s professional circuit, which will culminate in November at the Andalucía Costa del Sol Open de España, the final event of the circuit.
This tournament, which has an endowment of 600,000 €, will be decisive to find out who is the best player of the year. In 2020, Emily Pedersen made history at the Real Club Guadalmina by winning her fifth title of the season and winning the order of merit, while the best Spanish player was the Costa Rican Azahara Muñoz in sixth position.
This year, the Race to Costa del Sol will offer an additional €250,000 reward to the top three in this order of merit. The player at the top of the ranking will receive €125,000, second €75,000 and third, €50,000, a way to reward the achievements of women golfers and recognize the effort, commitment and determination needed to achieve their goals.
The sponsorship of the Race to Costa del Sol and the Andalucía Costa del Sol Open de España are fundamental for the circuit, as well as serving as a preamble to the presence of the Costa del Sol as a Global Partner in the Solheim Cup 2023 to be held at Finca Cortesín (Costa del Sol, Andalucía).
It is clear the firm commitment of the entity for women’s sport as a tool to transmit worldwide the values of the Costa del Sol as a tourist destination, a vocation that will benefit from the more than 200 hours of live broadcasts of Ladies European Tour tournaments that will be given this year, doubling the number of tournaments broadcast compared to last year.
“We are delighted to announce a record schedule for 2021 and excited to bring good news for our players after a difficult year,” said Spain’s Alexandra Armas, executive director of the Ladies European Tour. “The LET is committed to supporting our players and bringing golf to all markets, whether new or established, and we are proud to confirm the return of all postponed tournaments and the addition of new and innovative tournaments, demonstrating the interest in the women’s game. I would like to thank our sponsors, our partners and all the federations for their loyalty, vision and perseverance, and we look forward to launching a full calendar of tournaments for our players around the world.
The 2021 Race to Costa del Sol will begin in May at the Investec South African Women’s Open, will pass through Spain for the first time in July with the Mediterranean Ladies Open and will culminate in November at the Andalucía Costa del Sol Open de España Femenino, an ideal showcase for the land that hosts the tournament and gives its name to this classification. The location of this event as the closing event of the Ladies European Tour calendar and its reinforced prize purse will serve to attract the best players on the circuit and all good golf fans, whether local or foreign.
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