The 2018 Ladies European Tour, which begins this week with a tournament in Australia, will feature 21 Spanish players, half of them qualified through the Lalla Aicha Tour School.
There are five new Spanish representatives, who will be looking to make a name for themselves this season and they are Piti Martínez Bernal, Eun Jung Ji Kim (known as Jeny Ji), Camilla Hedberg, Natasha Fear and Gemma Fuster Anglada.
Spain is the perfect country for golf and the young players have been inspired by watching or playing in the Estrella Damm Mediterranean Ladies Open in Sitges and the Andalucía Costa del Sol Open de España Femenino in Málaga, which were organized by Alicia Garrido and Iñigo Aramburu through their events company Deporte & Business, with the assistance of new LET Board member Marta Figueras Dotti in 2017.
Carmen Alonso, who tied for second place at the Lalla Aicha Tour School, said: “It’s great to have more Spanish players on the Tour. We practice together and get along well”.
There is no doubt that there is an exceptionally strong spirit among the Spanish players. Jeny Ji, born in South Korea but raised in Gran Canaria, learning at El Cortijo Golf Club, was among the players attending the LET Rookie Orientation at La Sella Golf Resort in Alicante.
“It’s amazing,” Carmen said, “to have more Spanish players on Tour, because it’s good to have more people you know around you. There’s more of a connection and the Spanish girls are really close and have a lot of good vibes around them. There are quite a few tournaments in Spain now, so they can invite you to play to develop your game even before you become a Tour pro.”
Gemma Fuster Anglada, from Barcelona, received an invitation to play in the 2017 Estrella Damm Mediterranean Ladies Open and made the cut, which encouraged her to pursue her ambitions.
“Last year,” she said, “I made the cut in Sitges and it was a great experience, so I was very excited. I’m hoping to play in some tournaments this year on the LET in addition to playing in the LET Access series.”
Natasha Fear, from La Sella Golf Resort in Denia, Alicante, turned professional in November 2016 and spent a year on the LET Access series before attending LET Lalla Aicha Tour School. She is looking forward to playing her first LET event.
“It’s good to have more tournaments in your own country and especially for the young players who will see them on TV and I think it’s great that we have more Spanish players on the Tour, because we are all close friends, so it’s good to have friends when you start,” she said, adding that she had been inspired by Severiano Ballesteros, who was a good friend of her coach, Jose Maria Carriles.
The LET has a strong history in Spain and its first tournament played outside the British Isles was the 1982 Spanish Open in Sotogrande, won by American legend Rosie Jones. In fact, the first Spanish winner on Tour was Marta Figueras-Dotti, who won the Women’s British Open at Royal Birkdale as an amateur that same year.
Since then there has been a list of winners such as Tania Abitbol, Xonia Wunsch, Amaia Arruti, Marina Arruti, Raquel Carriedo, Paula Martí, Ana Belén Sánchez, Tania Elosegui, Beatriz Recari, Azahara Muñoz, María Hernández, Carlota Ciganda, Nuria. Iturrios and now, there is the bright prospect of a new generation of champions.
In addition to the aforementioned names, the 2018 LET Spaniards include Marta Sanz Barrio, Luna Sobrón, Belén Mozo, Silvia Banón, Mireia Prat, Elia Folch, Noemí Jiménez Martín and María Beautell.
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