Nine players from the Pro Spain Team are vying for Spain's fifth victory in the Challenge de España, which begins tomorrow at Real Club Sevilla Golf. They will face 20 DP World Tour winners who likely inspired their decision to turn professional. Starting tomorrow, they will compete on equal footing for the ninth Challenge Tour title of the season. Today, the Challenge Tour paid tribute to the Royal Spanish Golf Federation for its 25 editions of the Challenge de España and to Real Club Sevilla Golf for its continued support of the Tour over the years.
Fifteen years ago, the Royal Spanish Golf Federation created the Pro Spain Team, a program designed to help young professionals in their transition from the amateur to the professional world, with the aim of training and reaching the best tournaments.
The proof of its success lies in the results achieved by players who were part of the program from its inception and who are now successful worldwide, such as Adrián Otaegui, Nacho Elvira, Jorge Campillo, Adri Arnáus, Manuel Elvira, and Sebastián García, who serve as role models for younger players. In total, 72 professionals—43 men and 29 women—have participated in this program over the past 15 years. The RFEG (Royal Spanish Golf Federation) can be proud of a job well done and beneficial to them, as confirmed by the players who, thanks to the program, will be participating in the Challenge de España starting tomorrow, seeking their first victory on the Challenge Tour, which will open doors wide for them.
These opportunities open up not only for competing in international tournaments held in Spain but also in other countries, where they must perform well to climb the rankings. And they are doing just that; in fact, this year the Spanish Pro Spain team is achieving the best results on the Challenge Tour.
In the four South African tournaments that opened the season, Ángel Ayora was the best in the SDC Open (12th), Víctor Pastor (18th) in Cape Town, who the following week achieved a very commendable 3rd place in the Dimension Data, and in the NMB Championship, Ayora was again the highest-placed Spaniard (13th). Pastor was also the best Spaniard in New Delhi, and Ayora again played a prominent role in Abu Dhabi (15th) before passing the torch to Joel Moscatel, who finished 4th in the last tournament played, the UAE Challenge. All of them are members of the Pro Spain Team.
Starting tomorrow, Alejandro Aguilera, Ángel Ayora, Víctor García Broto, Jorge Maicas, Joel Moscatel, Víctor Pastor, Javier Sainz, Lucas Vacarisas, and Quim Vidal have their golden opportunity to put into practice everything they have learned with Kanski to improve their putting, with the team from the RFEG's High-Performance Center, and the caddies who this week are represented by Iñigo Urquizu in Seville, to make a good performance in the most important tournament of the year for those who support them, which is the RFEG.
And that's the general sentiment among the players in the program, who are grateful because “without this help, the transition to professionalism would have been very difficult. They provide us with resources that would be hard to access without being in the program. Not just technical support, but all kinds of help organizing our schedules, medical services, and above all, the essential human support. Having the RFEG (Royal Spanish Golf Federation) trust you is both a source of satisfaction and a significant challenge, one that helps us improve every day and gives us all the resources we need to do so,” they unanimously affirm.
Tribute to the RFEG and Real Club Sevilla Golf
Jaime Hodges, on behalf of the Challenge Tour, presented Gonzaga Escauriaza, President of the Royal Spanish Golf Federation, with a commemorative plaque for the 25 editions of the Challenge de España.
“A 25-year relationship is always something to celebrate, but these 25 editions of the Challenge de España have been especially significant for the Challenge Tour. Together with the Royal Spanish Golf Federation, we have visited some of the best golf courses in Spain, and many great players who have achieved worldwide success have emerged from here. We hope to celebrate for many more years because the Challenge de España is one of the most established events on the Challenge Tour.”.
He also presented a plaque to Real Club Sevilla Golf, which was accepted by Rafael Domínguez and Claudia Hernández, recognizing the club as “a place that has always welcomed the DP World Tour, and the Challenge Tour in this very special edition, offering a spectacular course and impeccable service. Players love coming to this course because it guarantees quality. I am sure that this week we will see very high-level golf, and the winner of the Challenge de España at this club will be very proud to have won at a club that is part of the DP World Tour's history, a history we hope will continue.”.
The first round of the Challenge de España will be played tomorrow, starting at 8:00 a.m. from two tees, with the last groups teeing off at 3:00 p.m. 156 golfers will compete in the first tournament of the year in Europe, which is the 25th edition of the Challenge de España.
The Royal Spanish Golf Federation is the main sponsor of the Challenge de España, which is supported by the Regional Government of Andalusia, the Royal Andalusian Golf Federation, and the Spanish National Sports Council, as well as AON, Allianz, Volvo, Mahou-Solán de Cabras, Halcon Viajes, Kyocera, Tag Heuer, Iberdrola, Loterías y Apuestas del Estado (Spanish National Lottery), Scalpers, Maximiliano Jabugo, Bodegas Marqués de Arviza, Grupo Ybarra, TOA Shoes, Titleist, Licor Mediterraneo, and Hotel Sevilla Green Suites. JGolf is the organizing company of the Challenge de España.
SOURCE: Tournament organizers.
