The time has come for the Spanish Under 16 and Benjamin Pitch & Putt Championship, one of the star events of the short game, which on this occasion is held at the Asturian course of Deva Golf between August 18 and 20.

One hundred and sixty-seven golfers under the age of 16 in total, spread across the different age groups, face the challenge of achieving the best possible result in a competition that begins with the youngest (under 10 years old) on August 18 and 19 and continues, on August 19 and 20, with the cadets, children and juniors, all of them in pursuit of the titles of the different categories.

This is the eleventh edition of a tournament that celebrates a specialty of golf that is booming in our country and that brings together players from the youngest age groups (under 10 years old), juniors (11 and 12 years old), children (13 and 14 years old) and cadets (15 and 16 years old).

In all cases, the golfers who have registered, despite their young age, have already developed an interesting sporting career and are destined to make important progress within Spanish golf.

Many references, with Isabel Mas from Castellón at the forefront

As with other tournaments involving the youngest group in the Spanish golf academy, establishing benchmarks in this Spanish Under 16 and Benjamin Pitch & Putt Championship is a complicated exercise, although, considering the playing handicaps and recent past performances, it is possible to establish some mentions that, once on the course, they have to confirm with their play.

This is the case of Isabel Mas, a member of the prolific Costa de Azahar talent pool, who arrives in Asturian lands with more than proven credentials that make her a potential winner in her category.

Cadet Isabel Mas boasts the 2016 Spanish Benjamin Championship in her record, and specifically within the Pitch & Putt specialty, the titles of Spanish Benjamin P&P Champion 2016, Alevín P&P Champion 2017 and 2018, Infantil P&P Champion 2019 and Under 16 P&P Champion 2019. As if that weren't enough, she was the runner-up in the Spanish Under 16 Pitch & Putt Championship in the 2017 and 2018 editions, which demonstrates that her experience and effectiveness are at their peak.

Despite all this glitz, Isabel Más faces formidable opposition from Mónica del Valle from León and Ainoa Ruiz from Valencia, both with a handicap of 1.8. The latter is the current runner-up in the Spanish Women's Absolute Pitch & Putt Championship and runner-up in the Under 16 category of Pitch & Putt last year.

In the boys' cadet category, the competition promises to be equally fierce, with Daniel Varela from A Coruña and Miguel Mora from Asturias leading the way. Varela is the current Spanish Doubles Pitch & Putt Champion, while Mora was crowned Spanish Under-12 Pitch & Putt Champion in 2017.

The string of good results is also evident in the boys' and girls' junior categories, where a spectacular show is also guaranteed. Gonzalo Baños from Cádiz, brother of Alberto in the cadet category, has the best playing handicap, closely followed by Pelayo Fernández from Asturias, who finished third in the recent 2022 Spanish Junior Championship.

Meanwhile, among the girls in the children's category, the Castilian-Leonese sisters Cristina and Carmen García have accumulated good successes - the former, Spanish Benjamin Champion 2019, Spanish Alevín Runner-up 2021 and Spanish Alevín Pitch & Putt Champion 2021; the latter, Spanish Benjamin Runner-up 2019 - as well as María Carlón, also from Castile and León, who has three Spanish Pitch & Putt runner-up titles: Benjamin 2017 and 2018, Alevín 2019.

Among the youngest players (11-12 years old), the number of notable figures decreases, but this doesn't prevent Miguel García from Madrid, the 2021 Spanish Benjamin Champion, and Lucía González from Cantabria, the 2021 Spanish Benjamin Runner-Up, from standing out among the participants in this age group. However, they won't be alone, as competition will surely come from ambitious youngsters like Biel Cabanes from Barcelona, Guillermo Alonso from Asturias, Fátima Noguera from Alicante, Isabel Martínez from Gran Canaria, and others—all of whom possess significant playing skills.

Finally, in the Benjamin category, which starts the competition on August 18 and 19, everything is uncertain due to the limited information available about these young players under 10 years old.

Sergio Vargas from Madrid, the current runner-up in the Spanish Benjamin category, leads the list with the best playing handicap (13.4), followed very closely by fellow Madrid natives Carlos Ceballos (13.5) and Álvaro Mateu (14.5). Among the girls, the spectacle is also more than guaranteed thanks to the presence of Marina González from Cantabria, with a playing handicap of 22.4, which gives her a theoretical advantage over the next most qualified participants based on that scale: Andrea Arnal from Castellón (28.1), Jimena Rodríguez from Malaga (29.1)... which promises to be exciting competitions over four days.

The latest winners

In the last edition held twelve months ago, the most outstanding golfers were the Madrid natives Miguel García and Carla Barrio, who achieved victory in the tournament held as on that occasion at Barbanza Golf.

Also noteworthy are the top-ranked athletes in the different age groups after the two days of competition: Antón Pérez from Galicia and Natalia Rodríguez from Cantabria, the best cadets (15-16 years old); Gonzalo Bravo from Cantabria and Carla Barrio from Madrid, the best children (13-14 years old); Miguel García from Madrid and Cristina García from Castile and León, the best juniors (11-12 years old).

Additionally, Martín Docabo from Galicia was the best in the boys' under-10 category, although the girls' category could not be contested due to a lack of participation.

Additional information below, in the Related Links section.