. Beatriz Recari, fifth; María Hernández, eleventh; Carlota Ciganda, Marta García Llorca, Andrea Jonama and Luna Sobrón, twenty-second, best Spanish players
Beatriz Recari, a golfer with extensive experience on the American Tour, has become the first relevant Spanish entry in the Estrella Damm Mediterranean Ladies Open, a tournament that exudes equality from its very beginning.
Within this interesting breeding ground where the correlation of forces is the predominant note, Beatriz Recari finished fifth, right in the thick of it, a great result of 70 strokes that even surprised her "because I came without any expectations after three months of break, but it has gone very well and I am super happy!".
The Navarrese golfer, after handing in her scorecard late in the afternoon, was the very picture of satisfaction with a job well done in a round that started in the best possible way, with a birdie on the par 3 – “textbook shot, two perfect strokes” – before entering a veritable rollercoaster of consecutive birdies and bogeys between the 9th and 14th holes that allowed her to brilliantly navigate the first 18 holes. “I’m happy,” she summarized with visible sincerity.
Only ten players have been able to go below par on the first day, a barrier of 71 strokes that became an insurmountable bar for many of those who arrive with many accolades on their chests.
Among them, special mention goes to the American Beth Allen, the Italian Stefania Avanzo and the German Laura Fuenfstueck, the trio of players who, by slightly different paths but ultimately successful in one way or another, obtained with their 68 strokes, 3 under par, the status of co-leaders from the middle of the morning, an honor maintained until the end of the day.
It's certainly true that the setting contributed substantially to leveling the playing field, as many players stated immediately after finishing their round. A course with a different layout, with often wild rough, a significantly longer distance – note the more than 500 meters of the 6th hole, where completing it in 5 strokes was almost impossible – and narrow fairways – “narrower than the US Women's Open,” Carlota Ciganda pointed out – made the round, for the vast majority, a challenge of enormous proportions.
Aware of all this, and accustomed to dealing with the most complicated situations – “among which is this one” – Carlota Ciganda resolved the first commitment happy with the result “because 72 strokes, 1 over par, is a good score no matter how you look at it” – while waiting to resolve the many unknowns generated by a classification constrained to a veritable handkerchief.
In that maelstrom of aspirations, another golfer from Navarre, María Hernández, eleventh, garnered another great prominence with the par, an excellent proposal to add to those who, with one more stroke, like Carlota Ciganda, finished twenty-second, as in the case of Marta García Llorca, Andrea Jonama and Luna Sobrón.
Footballers and golfers, a huge spectacle at Terramar, including a hole-in-one
The Estrella Damm Mediterranean Ladies Open hosted for the first time in the history of the Ladies European Tour a Footgolf exhibition, where two players from FC Barcelona –Melanie Serrano and Candela Andújar–, two from Espanyol –Cristina Baudet and Yaiza Relea– teamed up with four professional golfers, Carlota Ciganda, Catriona Matthew, Anne-Lise Caudal and Carly Booth, to, with a football, put it into three holes of the appropriate dimensions in the fewest possible strokes.
The competition, very playful, gradually increased in intensity as the three planned holes were completed, generating an equality that was maintained until the end, with a tie between the competing teams, who exchanged shirts and, later, knowledge, since the soccer players did not hesitate to test their skills with golf clubs.
Special mention goes to Yaiza Relea's feat, who scored with a single, perfectly placed shot, to the delight and admiration of everyone present. It happened during the warm-up... but it was sensational!
Marta García Llorca, the first great pleasant surprise
Galician golfer Marta García Llorca was one of the pleasant surprises of the morning, given her impressive performance throughout the day, at one point even holding a top position. It's worth noting that the young García Llorca is still an amateur, which didn't prevent her from competing with the tournament's best professional players, finishing her round with an outstanding 72 strokes, the same score as Carlota Ciganda, for example. The Galician golfer was visibly delighted, especially considering she had earned a place in Monday's qualifying round.
Important meeting of the Barcelona Golf Courses Association
The Estrella Damm Mediterranean Ladies Open provides the perfect setting for organizing other important events, such as the meeting of the Barcelona Golf Courses Association held at the Terramar Golf Club. Representatives from Barcelona's golf clubs, along with individuals from various sectors of the economy, expressed their interest in promoting joint initiatives for the better development of golf in the province of Barcelona, as well as requesting greater involvement from public administrations to support the development of the golf industry.
Sponsors are committed to women's golf and
Companies
Apart from the sponsorship of Estrella Damm and the institutions that collaborate on the event -Generalitat de Catalunya, Diputació de Barcelona, Ayuntamiento de Sitges, RFEG, Federación Catalana de Golf-, special mention should also be made of the other companies that contribute to the celebration of the tournament, such as the co-sponsors Finisher and Grupo Romeu
and from the suppliers Bargosa, Kyocera, Sub70, Fever-tree, Greenmowers and Vilamobil Audi.
TV entry and broadcast
The ticket to witness the show of
Estrella Damm Mediterranean Ladies Open
It is free -right of admission reserved- during the competition days and the event will be broadcast by TV3, Andalucía TV, Movistar Golf, Teledeporte and LaLigaSportsTV for all those who cannot travel to the
Terramar Golf Club. Additionally, the tournament has the participation of Holagolf and TV3 Esports3 as official media outlets.,
Movistar+Golf and Radio Marca.
Additionally, the Ladies European Tour production company is responsible for broadcasting the images on various television channels in 105 countries.
SOURCE: Tournament Organization
