The Andalucía Costa del Sol Open de España Femenino, tournament integrated within the European Women’s Professional Tour to be held at Aloha Golf between November 28 and December 1, has announced the biggest bet on elite women’s golf in the history of our country thanks to the joint initiative of various institutions led by the Ministry of Tourism of the Junta de Andalucía, Turismo Costa del Sol, Acosol – Mancomunidad de Municipios de la Costa del Sol Occidental and the municipalities of Benahavís and Marbella.
This bet will double the prize money in the 2020 edition, which will increase from the current 300,000 to 600,000 euros, and the change of name of the Ladies European Tour Ranking, which will be sponsored by Costa del Sol to be called ‘Race to Costa del Sol’ from next season, endowed with an additional bonus of 250,000 euros. distributed among the first three players of the above mentioned Ranking..
These important announcements were made during the official presentation of the Andalucía Costa del Sol Open de España Femenino, a determined bid for golf, entertainment and tourism where the best players of the European Continent will be present, “a perfect showcase of what the Costa del Sol in particular and Andalusia in general can offer”, according to the consensus opinion of the representatives of the various institutions.
Rafael Fontán, President of Aloha Golf, welcomed all those present emphasizing that “it is an honor to host this event for us, for what it means for the promotion of Andalusian and Spanish women’s golf and the promotion of the Costa del Sol, the largest concentration of golf courses in Europe. We have made a remarkable effort to have the course in the best conditions and offer the best services to everyone, so we are confident that, as in 2016, everything will be a success”.
Gonzaga Escauriaza, President of the Royal Spanish Golf Federation, stressed that “we are delighted that this Open will be held again at Aloha, which is a magnificent course used to hosting men’s and women’s tournaments of the highest prestige. We are going to show everyone that golf can be played in November and December on the Costa del Sol, both for its weather and the quality of its courses. Women’s golf has been carefully looked after for a long time, with actions already undertaken by my predecessor Emma Villacieros. We have the best of the best in this tournament and we must enjoy it in the framework of a joint commitment of all institutions and a luxury organizer as Deporte & Business so that everything goes perfectly”.
In her speech, Marta Figueras-Dotti, President of the Ladies European Tour, expressed her satisfaction “to be in the Costa del Sol for another year. We are working hard with our CEO Alejandra Armas to promote the LET, and we consider Spain as an essential destination”.
For his part, Iñigo Aramburu, General Manager of Deporte & Business, emphasized that “we are going to enjoy a magnificent show. We have formed a great team and we want to continue to grow together thanks to the firm commitment of our sponsors, with whom we have already come a long way and we hope to increase it in the future”.
Manuel Cardeña, Executive Managing Director of Acosol, highlighted the already consolidated commitment of the golf courses to irrigate with recycled water “which guarantees not only the present, but also the future. We are in the cradle where the growth of this sport in Andalusia radiated, in the so-called Golf Valley. The most important thing is that we are a team of institutions working for the same destination, to promote women’s golf, both now and in the future”.
The CEO of Turismo Costa del Sol, Margarita del Cid, was in charge of announcing the sponsorship of her institution to the LET Ranking “which will be called Race to Costa del Sol for the next 4 years, with the prestige it means for the Costa del Sol, whose presence is guaranteed in all the tournaments of the Ladies European Tour throughout the year. In relation to this tournament, it will have a great diffusion abroad, which will be able to visualize the tourist and climatological excellences of our land, accustomed to celebrate events of this type. Not in vain, golf is a very important activity because of the income it generates”.
José Antonio Mena, Mayor of Benahavís, reiterated his municipality’s commitment to golf “since 90 percent of its activity is linked to this sport. We are delighted to join this project, which will serve as a window to the world to show our excellence. Not in vain, almost 50% of the golf courses in Andalusia are located on the Costa del Sol”.
Finally, Manuel Muñoz, Secretary General of Tourism of the Junta de Andalucía, emphasized “the beneficial communion that exists between administrations, which is reflected in tournaments as important as this one. In Andalusia we have great experience with the organization of major events. It is necessary to emphasize the importance of golf in the creation of employment, in its consolidated brand as a first level tourist destination. It is necessary to continue taking care of it with great affection since there are many tourists who come to Andalusia and the Costa del Sol whose first motivation is golf”.
Free admission
Admission to attend the four days of competition -from November 28th to December 1st- of the Andalucía Costa del Sol Open de España Femenino is free of charge.
Extensive television coverage of the tournament
The Andalucía Costa del Sol Open de España Femenino will have extensive television coverage with three hours of live coverage plus a 30-minute summary each day of competition. This last section will be extended to a one-hour daily summary during the weekend. Teledeporte, Andalucía TV, Movistar Golf and LaLigaSports will be the channels that will broadcast the event in Spain, while outside our borders the broadcast will reach, through Sky and other major television channels, a potential market of 300 million households.
Leave a Reply