The Real Club de Campo de Málaga paid an emotional tribute to Ángel de la Riva – Honorary President of the Royal Andalusian Golf Federation – last Saturday, January 28, during the dinner and prize-giving ceremony of the LXXVII Iberia Cup which, in this edition, was won by the team representing the Real Club de Golf Vista Hermosa, made up of Ignacio de Lope, Eduardo van Panhuyys, Juan Ignacio Sáenz and José Ignacio Andrades.
The ceremony began with some affectionate words from the President of the Real Club de Campo de Málaga, Domingo Martín, who reviewed the long and fruitful work of De la Riva in favor of Andalusian and Spanish golf, before projecting a video in which the club captured some of the most moving images of the life of the honoree in the world of golf.
Afterwards, Domingo Martín presented Ángel de la Riva with a plaque commemorating this event, and gave him the floor.
In an emotional speech, de la Riva recalled some of the most important moments he has lived in the Real Club de Campo de Málaga, of which he is currently the oldest member and of which he has been an Honorary Member since 2012.
In addition, in 2006, the dean club of golf in Malaga, already distinguished him with its Jacket of Honor, an award that also received figures such as Miguel Angel Jimenez or Severiano Ballesteros.
Ángel de la Riva started playing golf precisely in the Real Club de Campo de Málaga, in the holes of the Parador de Golf, when he was only 12 years old, together with his cousin Pepe Gancedo.
It was at this club, and under the guidance of his then teacher, Julio Casaña, where he began his life as a golf player: “The Real Club de Campo de Málaga is the club of my childhood and of my life, a club of which I have only wonderful memories”.
Already in 1962 -after a period studying outside Spain, and when he was only 23 years old- he began his career as a manager in the world of Andalusian golf. And, once again, he did so as Vice-Secretary at his beloved Real Club de Campo de Málaga, then presided over by the Marqués de Nájera. The following year, he was appointed Chairman of the Competition Committee of the Club to which he has remained linked throughout his life.
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