The show can begin. This week, from the 20th to the 23rd, the third edition of the Andalucía Costa del Sol Match Play 9 will be played at Valle Romano Golf & Resort with a truly luxury line-up. Among his cast of players include up to 32 different nationalities among which players from Australia, South Korea, USA or northern Europe such as Finland, Sweden or Denmark. This tournament is a clear example of the international expansion that is taking in recent seasons the European Tour and its satellite circuits. This Andalucía Costa del Sol Match Play 9 is, therefore, a first class international showcase.
Jacobo Florido, acting vice-president of the Diputación de Málaga: “On this occasion, the Andalucía Costa del Sol Match Play 9 once again puts the destination in the spotlight of the golfing world, from Turismo Costa del Sol, our commitment to the golf segment is firm, because it is a key factor to manage the seasonality of the destination. A vital segment for our destination. And the impact that Golf generates in the Costa del Sol amounts to 1,410 million euros in direct and indirect production. And 775 million euros in direct and indirect income. From Turismo Costa del Sol we have spent many years, decades, betting on golf as a tourism product. That is why it is a real pride that the Andalucía Costa del Sol Match Play 9 stops in Valle Romano”.
Gregory Bourdy, Felipe Aguilar, Richard Bland, Maarten Lafeber or Gregory Havret will try to win in Estepona but names like Pedro Oriol, Carlos Pigem or Eduardo de la Riva will surely want to leave the champion’s cup in Spanish territory. Scotland’s Liam Johnson won the second edition of the Costa del Sol Match Play 9 held in 2018 by beating his compatriot Grant Forrest in the final round. It is, therefore, a perfect tournament to define the Order of Merit of the Challenge Tour and a victory in Valle Romano can pave the way to the European Tour 2020.
Federico Paez, Challenge Tour Tournament Director: “The Challenge Tour is a professional golf circuit that is firmly committed to the development of this sport and its talents. This season it has 25 tournaments spread over 17 countries in three different continents. It is comparable to the University, the ideal way to train talents to reach the European Tour, since the top 15 players in the ranking after the Grand Final get playing rights. This has been reflected in the last 30 years with numerous graduates winning majors such as Justin Rose, Brooks Koepka, Henrik Stenson, Martin Kaymer, Louis Oosthuizen or great talents such as Rafa Cabrera Bello, Alvaro Quiros, Tommy Fleetwood, among others”.
In purely sporting terms, this is a competition with an innovative format where players will compete during two rounds in Stroke Play. After these first rounds, the best 64 will go on to a 9-hole Match Play elimination phase. Among the main candidates for victory, several professionals with a past in the European Tour who will seek on the Costa del Sol their return to the highest category of European golf.
Pablo Mansilla, President of the Royal Andalusian Golf Federation: “This year is, more than ever, almost a European Tour tournament. There are many winners of this great circuit this week on the Challenge Tour as, for example, Felipe Aguilar, Gregory Bourdy or Gregory Havret. The format of the tournament is fast-paced and a lot of fun so we can only thank all the sponsors and especially Turismo Costa del Sol for their indispensable support for the celebration of this Andalucía Costa del Sol Match Play 9 and we look forward to seeing you all at Valle Romano Golf & Resort”.
This Cabell B. Robinson design will become the best setting for this tournament in Match Play format of the Challenge Tour, which will be played from Thursday 20th to Sunday 23rd June in one of the most spectacular designs of the Costa del Sol.
Ildefonso Esquivel, Director Valle Romano Golf & Resort: “As for the course, as some of you already know, it is a fun course, well maintained and its characteristics help to make it a very fun tournament, especially the last two jordans to be by elimination; Regarding the improvements made to improve the quality, the most important action is the leveling of the 12th fairway in the ball drop area. The course is in a magnificent level of maintenance, fast greens, so we will present the course in a great state of maintenance”.
The Andalucía Costa del Sol Match Play will be seen all over the world thanks to the wide television broadcasting of the Challenge Tour. The repercussion and diffusion of the image of the destination abroad is guaranteed thanks to the continuous information offered during the event. The European Tour Productions will publish daily summaries on the web page and will make a program that will be broadcasted within the Challenge Tour Series, while Movistar+Golf will make an exclusive broadcast with several rebroadcasts, which will place the Costa del Sol in general and Valle Romano Golf & Resort in particular, in a focus of relevance at an international golfing level.
The Andalucía Match Play 9 is possible thanks to the joint collaboration of Turismo Costa del Sol, the Royal Spanish Golf Federation and the Royal Andalusian Golf Federation. The Royal Andalusian Golf Federation is the promoter of the tournament organized by JGolf18.0. It also has the collaboration of the Estepona City Council, Consejo Superior de Deportes, Challenge Tour, La Liga 4Sports, Valle Romano Golf & Resort, Ona Hotels (Official Hotel), Ping, Titleist, Callaway, Ogio, Holiday Golf, Cobra Puma Golf, Eulen Golf, Solán de Cabras (official water), Bodegas Barbadillo (Official Wine) and Kyocera (official printing services).
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