Shared enthusiasm, cohesion, understanding and absolute harmony among all the institutions and entities involved in the organization of the Solheim Cup 2023, an event that will be held for the first time in our country from September 18 to 24, 2023. This women’s professional golf tournament, the most important on the international calendar, pits teams from Europe and the United States against each other every two years and comes to our country thanks to the close relationship established between the main players in this spectacular project. This union was the common thread of the interventions of its representatives at the presentation ceremony held on Monday afternoon at the Muelle de Honor in Puerto Banús, Marbella, the perfect base for a unique competition.
Although Spain, Andalusia and the Costa del Sol are veterans when it comes to successfully hosting top-level sporting competitions, the 2023 Solheim Cup presents an unbeatable opportunity to strengthen its position as a safe tourist destination, in addition to strengthening the commitment to women’s sport in a sustainable event of great international relevance. The designation of Finca Cortesin as the venue for the tournament by the Ladies European Tour is a boost for Andalusia and the Costa del Sol and will undoubtedly bring countless benefits to the region and its main municipalities, such as Marbella and Benahavis.
Juan Marín, Vice President and Minister of Tourism, Justice, Regeneration and Local Administration of the Junta de Andalucía, presided over the event and took the opportunity to emphasize the main lines of his Administration with respect to golf and this great tournament.
“From Turismo Andaluz we are committed to Andalusian sport and more specifically to women’s sport, in this case golf, in which 60% of the new players are women. We believe that the celebration of both the Women’s Spanish Open this year and the Solheim Cup in 2023 are an excellent opportunity to improve the positioning of the Andalusia brand as a tourist destination thanks to the enormous media impact it will have worldwide. It is also the confirmation that, despite the complicated situation we are living, Andalusia is a safe destination and ready to host events of this international relevance”.
Francisco Salado, president of the Diputación de Málaga, referred to the Solheim Cup as the culmination of a cooperative project they have been working on for years and what it means for the Costa del Sol.
“Today we have to congratulate ourselves because we finally see a dream come true: the Costa del Sol will host the Solheim Cup for the first time in history in 2023, the first time this tournament stops in our country. And we are very proud because an event of this caliber turns the Costa del Sol back to the center of all eyes in the world,” explained Francisco Salado. “The celebration of these events is a splendid opportunity to show the facilities we have, in a state of review throughout the year. Today is a day of celebration and satisfaction for the joint work. A day that encourages us, especially in the difficult moment in which we find ourselves, to continue in this same line of cooperation that will undoubtedly bring us many more successes.
The president of the Ladies European Tour, who announced the designation of Finca Cortesin as the venue for the Solheim Cup on October 13, wanted to take the opportunity to recall the weight of our country in the international scene and thank the collaboration of the organizations that have supported the project.
“The Ladies European Tour has a long and close relationship with Spain and the Costa del Sol, and we are delighted that they will host the 2023 Solheim Cup. We are proud to have a diverse group of professional players from 38 different countries, and there have also been many Spaniards who have performed at the highest level. They now have the opportunity to represent the European team in their country and in the most important women’s team tournament in the world. I would like to thank Andalucía, Costa del Sol, Acosol, Marbella Town Hall, Benahavís Town Hall, the RFEG, Finca Cortesín and Deporte & Business for helping us to develop this project. We look forward to working with all of them in the coming years,” said Marta Figueras-Dotti, president of the Ladies European Tour.
The highest representative of Spanish golf, Gonzaga Escauriaza, wanted to stress the importance of golf as an engine for economic recovery at a particularly delicate moment for Spain.
“The celebration of the Solheim Cup in our country in 2023 is magnificent news both for the sport of golf and for Spanish society as a whole. Once again we will have the opportunity to show the world the excellence of our golfing offer, our infrastructure, our climate, our enormous cultural and gastronomic offer. The announcement of the Solheim Cup also comes at a perfect time as it gives us the opportunity to contribute to accelerate the recovery of tourism. Let’s work and enjoy this spectacular sporting event from now on”, declared Gonzaga Escauriaza, president of the RFEG.
For his part, Vicente Rubio, CEO of Single Home, thanked Finca Cortesín for its designation and made clear its commitment to quality, excellence and sustainability.
“In recent years, Finca Cortesin has established itself as the resort of reference in terms of luxury. In this quest for excellence we have received numerous awards that place us as the number one resort in Spain and Portugal, although the most important thing for us is the recognition of the thousands of clients who have visited us,” recapitulated Vicente Rubio. “We face this new challenge with the conviction that we are ready for it, not only because of the experience accumulated during the three editions of the successful Volvo World Match Play Championship, but also because of the countless improvements we have made to the resort and the course over the last few years, deepening our commitment to sustainability. The Solheim Cup is the event that fulfills all our aspirations and we are sure that Finca Cortesín is the ideal venue to host it.
In turn, Ángeles Muñoz, Mayoress of Marbella and host of the event, emphasized the importance of this great tournament, such as the Solheim Cup, being held in such a special destination.
“Welcome to this unique enclave that identifies very well this symbiosis of quality, excellence and sport. It is a very important day for all of us who are working to ensure that this destination is chosen to host the 2023 Solheim Cup. It is a unique destination. First of all, I would like to thank the vice-president and all his team who have worked hard to make the Solheim Cup come as the Ryder Cup did in Cadiz. That the girls come to play in Spain, and especially in Andalusia, is a great decision. We want it to be an absolute claim, I think we are facing a unique opportunity, and so it has to be seen. It is an event that will transcend beyond the merely sporting, I think we will have the opportunity to assert our great complementary offer, which gives our climate, but also our hotels, our organizational capacity, our complementary offer, our gastronomy, leisure and our culture. And I have to say that we are going to do it with all the generosity that such an event deserves” assured Án
geles Muñoz.
Manuel Cardeña, the executive managing director of Acosol (a public company belonging to the Mancomunidad de Municipios de la Costa del Sol Occidental that manages the integral water cycle), made clear the importance of caring for the environment and sustainability in an event of this nature and stressed the commitment of the venue, Finca Cortesín, to responsible water consumption.
“It is a source of pride for Acosol that Finca Cortesín is the chosen venue for the Solheim Cup 2023 as it is a golf course that we irrigate one hundred percent with reclaimed water and will be the first to have our specific seal of quality for irrigation with this type of water. In these times it is of vital importance to carry out a sustainable management of our resources and that is why we are committed to events of this relevance worldwide, as they value the work we develop regarding the care of the environment, sustainability and circular economy”, explained Manuel Cardeña.
Íñigo Aramburu, general director of Sport & Business, emphasized the great scope of an event like the Solheim Cup and the positive effect it should have, in a transversal way, on society as a whole.
“Bringing the Solheim Cup to Spain is the successful completion of a project in which all the entities involved have worked with effort and enthusiasm, but it also offers a wonderful opportunity to Spanish society. We want everyone to feel the project as their own; that the professional and junior players are motivated to give the best of themselves and aspire to a place in the tournament or in the PING Junior Solheim Cup; that the courses are involved and consider it an ideal tool to transmit the benefits of golf; that the fans live it with passion, from now until 2023; that society perceives it as the ideal vehicle to transmit equality, solidarity and tolerance, essential bases of women’s sport; that companies align their discourse with the facts and participate in a first class international event. In short, that the Solheim Cup transcends the sporting sphere and leaves its mark,” said Íñigo Aramburu.
The Solheim Cup was first played in Florida in 1990 and was named in honor of Karsten and Louise Solheim, founders of Karsten Manufacturing Corporation, the company that markets the PING brand of golf equipment. Two teams of 12 players representing Europe and the United States compete in the Solheim Cup over three days in the same format as the Ryder Cup. As already mentioned, the Solheim Cup will be held for the first time in our country in Finca Cortesin (Costa del Sol, Andalusia) in 2023.
More information can be found on the website www.solheimcup2023.eu, on the Twitter account @SolheimCup2023, on the Instagram account @solheimcup2023esp and on the Facebook page Solheim Cup 2023.
The Solheim Cup 2023, whose official venue is Finca Cortesín, is sponsored by PING, Costa del Sol and Rolex as global partners; and by Andalucía, Acosol, the Marbella Town Hall and the Benahavís Town Hall as official partners. Solán de Cabras is official supplier. Marca and Radio Marca are official media. The LET, the LPGA Tour, the RFEG and Deporte & Business collaborate in its organization.
Photo: (From left to right) Carlos Cañavete, Gonzaga Escauriaza, Francisco Salado, Mª Ángeles Muñoz, Juan Antonio Marín, Marta Figueras-Dotti, José Carrasco, Vicente Rubio, Manuel Cardeña and Iñigo Aramburu.
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