La Cala Resort is decked out to host one of the most important golf championships of the year. From May 18 to 21, the Malaga course will host the Andalucía Costa del Sol Match Play 9 tournament of the European Challenge Tour. Located in the municipality of Mijas, this sports resort has three golf courses. The Asia course will host this innovative Match Play competition.
The Andalucía Costa del Sol brand will travel around the world. In this way, the Costa del Sol confirms its enormous potential to host the key events of this sport. The Andalucía Costa del Sol Match Play 9 is a new format, with the aim of making golf more fun, easy and fast.
The tournament will be played over 36 holes stroke play, followed by a series of match play matches over 9 holes to be played by the top finishers. The prize money will be 200,000 euros and the event will be valid for the ‘Road to Oman’.
Francisco Javier Fernández Hernández, Minister of Tourism and Sport of the Regional Government of Andalusia: “Andalusia considers the promotion of its tourism brand as one of its main strategies, as well as its consolidation as a venue for major sporting events. We also want to bring sport closer to Andalusians, promote the Andalusia brand and promote the healthy values that come with the practice of sport. The Andalucía Costa del Sol Matchplay 9 together with the Andalucía Valderrama Masters will be two great golf references”.
Elías Bendodo, President of Costa del Sol Tourism: “Our commitment to the golf segment is being a key factor in our goal of managing the seasonality of the destination. The celebrations of these sporting events also harmonize with the Sport Destination brand, which seeks since its creation last year, to turn the Costa del Sol into a reference destination in Europe for the celebration of major sporting events, as is the case of these golf championships during this 2017”.
Margarita del Cid, President of the Association of Municipalities of the Western Costa del Sol, which includes 11 municipalities of the Costa del Sol: “Golf is a great tool that helps us to break with seasonality. We must convey the message that the golf courses of our coast are irrigated with recycled water being an example for the whole world”.
Pablo Mansilla, President of the Royal Andalusian Golf Federation: “The promotion of golf in Andalusia is one of the fundamental objectives of the Royal Andalusian Golf Federation and one of the best ways to achieve this is to host professional tournaments. We are fortunate to have public institutions, such as the Ministry of Tourism and Sport, the Provincial Council of Malaga, the Association of Municipalities of the Costa del Sol, the Tourist Boards and municipalities that know the importance of golf as a driver of tourism.
Jaime Salaverri, President of the Professional Committee of the Royal Spanish Golf Federation: “We continue with our firm commitment to promote Challenge Tour tournaments in Spain to give playing opportunities to those players whose objective is to reach the European Tour”.
Alain de Soultrait, Director of the Challenge Tour: “We would like to thank once again the Andalusian institutions for their support of golf and congratulate the Royal Andalusian Federation for its initiative to create a new event on the Challenge Tour, as well as the Royal Spanish Golf Federation for its continued support of the Challenge Tour and the sporting development of young Spanish professionals”.
The Andalucía Costa del Sol Match Play 9 is one of two Challenge Tour events to be held in Spain throughout 2017 along with the Challenge of Spain. In addition to the Andalusian institutions, it has the collaboration of the Royal Spanish Golf Federation, the Consejo Superior de Deportes and companies such as Kyocera, Titleist and Solan de Cabras. JGolf18.0 is the organizing company.
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