The Real Club de Golf Valderrama team was the winner of the XXII Pro Am Costa del Golf Turismo held at the Alcaidesa Golf Resort, on a day in which a tribute was also paid to Marta Figueras Dotti, president of the European Ladies tour.
An important action, in which about twenty clubs and a team of specialized journalists have participated, “which enables the annual union of all the offer of the province of Malaga to strengthen relations and draw ways of joint promotion,” said the president of Turismo Costa del Sol, Francisco Salado.
According to the president of Turismo Costa del Sol, Francisco Salado, “the Pro-Am has become the essential meeting point for golf courses, professionals and golf workers on the Costa del Sol”.
It is, as indicated Salado “an annual event that was born with the aim of bringing together this sector and help to spread one of the most characteristic attractions of our tourist offer: golf.
And this year it has acquired even greater relevance if possible because, according to the president, “it has become historic, because the circumstances caused by the pandemic led us to the decision to cancel the last edition.
“For this reason, this Pro am is not the traditional meeting every year. It is much more, because it means reunion and symbolizes recovery,” said Francisco Salado.
The president stressed in his speech that this year “means more than ever the union of all those who work for this segment that brings so many benefits to our destination”.
“The participation of the camps demonstrates once again, year after year, the faithful commitment to this segment of professionals and, ultimately, with the destination,” said the head of Costa del Sol Tourism .
Francisco Salado has also made reference to the importance of this segment and has indicated that “we are leaders thanks to the professionals of the sector and that is why the Costa del Sol organizes this tournament to recognize and thank the real protagonists of this segment for their work”.
In this sense, the head of Costa del Sol Tourism has indicated that “their involvement and dedication is essential for all this to be possible and so that every year we can overcome, even when things have not gone so well”.
The president thanked “the Alcaidesa Golf Resort for hosting us, and Turismo Andaluz, and the Royal Andalusian Golf Federation, always faithful traveling companions in the promotion of Golf and therefore the destination”.
Also to the municipalities and above all thanks again to the professionals who “have worked so hard these months to have your courses in perfect condition for the long-awaited return to normality. Your effort has been commendable and I am sure we will soon see the results, especially when we see the long-awaited dream of the Solheim 2023 fulfilled, which is getting closer and closer,” said the president of Costa del Sol Tourism.
Francisco Salado has also made reference to Golfspain.comfor “its invaluable support, and for making this important action a reality, which makes possible the annual union of all the offer of the province of Malaga to strengthen relations and to trace ways of joint promotion”.
And he wanted to have a few words of “deep gratitude to Marta Figueras Dotti, president of the European Ladies tour, who today receives a well-deserved tribute for her contribution to this important segment and who has helped us so much to make the dream of the Solheim come true”.
During his speech, Francisco Salado presented the most relevant data of this tourist segment, including the 74 courses that make the destination the area of continental Europe with the highest number and density of golf courses.
He also referred to the power of this segment in terms of seasonal adjustment and the level of spending by these tourists, which is higher than that of the average visitor.
The president has also highlighted “the great economic contribution that this type of visitor brings to the tourism industry of the province, for its high purchasing power, and the high satisfaction rating that golf tourists give us, in addition to its high degree of loyalty with figures that are very convincing: The golf segment brings revenues of 1,400 million and 17,700 jobs to the Costa del Sol.
In addition, golfers give the destination an average score of 9.24 out of ten: an exceptional figure whose main guarantors are safety, human treatment and value for money. 98.7% recommend the Costa del Golf destination.
Francisco Salado concluded by referring to the collaboration of Turismo Costa del Sol with the sector. In this regard and as indicated by the president “we will always be with you, supporting your more than fair requests, and in this regard we will continue to claim that the Golf is declared a tourist activity, with the consequent fiscal impact, and the strategic sector Tourism”.
Recognition of Marta Figueras Dotti
During the Pro Am, recognition was given to Marta Figueras Dotti, who in 1979 was the first woman in Spain to win a scholarship to study in the United States, at the University of Southern California, where she graduated Cum Laude in Humanities and Social Sciences, with a great list of awards and recognitions. As an amateur, she achieved great results with the National Team (9 national titles, 13 international individual titles and 5 international medals as a member of the Spanish team) and in the British Open, being this her last victory as an amateur in 1982, year in which she turned professional.
She was the first Spaniard to play the LPGA, winning the prestigious LPGA Rookie of the Year award in 1984 and combined it with the LET until 2001.
After her victory in the British Open as an amateur, she turned professional and went to play in the United States, where she achieved two victories in the American Futures Tour in 1983. That year she won two tournaments on the Ladies European Tour. Her two LPGA victories came in 1994 (Hawaii and JC Penney Classic).
In 1996 he founded the Medallist Tour, the American Senior Circuit of the LPGA. In 2002 she began coaching the Blume National School team, as well as several professionals. That year she was named Vice Captain of the European Junior Solheim Cup team. In 2016 the RFEG named her Olympic coach of the Spanish women’s team for the 2016 Olympic Games.
In 2016
began working with the Moroccan Federation coaching their national team. In 2017 she was Vice Captain of the European Solheim Cup team. Since December 2018, she has been President of the Ladies European Tour.
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