The Valencian Community has won the 2024 Spanish Women's Absolute Championship of Autonomous Communities in a magnificent final decided with high doses of excitement at the Mediterráneo Golf course (Castellón). The hosts, who hadn't won since 2005 – having previously won in 1993, 1996 and 1998, when the tournament was called the Junior Championship – sealed the victory against Madrid with the final point from Rocío Tejedo.

Full results

The home team's start was flawless, controlling all three foursomes matches almost from start to finish. One statistic illustrates what happened: only Amanda Revuelta and Paula Martín managed to put Madrid ahead, and that was by a single hole.

Rocío Tejedo and Xinyi Gu were the first to win (2-1), followed by points from Carla Tejedo and África Oliva (3-2), and then Julia Ballester and Ángela Gómez (1 up). This 3-0 run significantly altered the captains' expected course of events and forced the Madrid team to go all out for every point in the singles matches, taking more risks than usual.

Madrid's response was swift, arriving in the form of birdies courtesy of Andrea Revuelta and Blanca Fernández. Both won their first two matches of the afternoon with convincing scores of 8-6 and 5-4. Xinyi Gu, phenomenal all week, won her match (4-3), but Cayetana Fernández secured the third point for Madrid with the same score.

Thus, in Valencian terms, everything was in the hands of the Tejedo sisters, who dominated their initial matches, but… neither Paula de Francisco nor Paula Martín were willing to give up.

Carla Tejedo was 4 up on the 8th hole, but Paula Martín, fresh off her NCAA League victory with Stanford, rallied, stringing together seven consecutive birdies to take the lead. An extraordinary head-to-head battle between two golfers who will be competing in the European Championships with the Spanish National Team in three weeks.

However, that point was no longer enough to keep Madrid in contention for a fifth consecutive title, because Rocío Tejedo, in an incredibly tense match, sealed the victory against Paula de Francisco with a brilliant birdie on the 17th hole. Point, triumph, and victory for the Valencian Community, who were on the verge of glory nineteen years later. Madrid, meanwhile, saw their chance of winning for the fifth time in a row vanish.

The consolation final, also very exciting, fell to the Catalan side, who came back from the foursome won by Andalusia in some balanced individual matches well resolved by Claudia Laura - who started the path to victory by winning her match 4/3 -, Nagore Martínez on the 17th hole and by Alexandra Vidal and Daniela Campillo on the 18th, who took advantage of balls into the water by their rivals on the 16th.

Also in this Flight A, the fifth place went to the Basque Country, winner against the Balearic Islands (5-0), and the seventh place was secured by Castile and León, beating the Principality of Asturias (3-2).

Aragon wins a close match against the Canary Islands to prevail in Flight B

Flight B also witnessed a thrilling final, which Aragon won against the Canary Islands (3-2). The close victories of María Velilla and Ioana García, both 2-1, proved decisive. The other results of the day saw Galicia defeat Navarre (5-0), Castilla-La Mancha beat Cantabria (3-2), and Murcia triumph over La Rioja (5-0).

QUARTER-FINALS: Comfortable victories for teams from Madrid, Catalonia, Valencia and Andalusia

Tuesday's quarter-final matches set the stage for some incredibly exciting semi-finals. In the top half of the draw, Madrid and Catalonia secured their qualification against Asturias and the Basque Country, respectively, by winning the opening foursome. Both teams then went on to win in the singles matches, with Madrid taking the victory 4.5-0.5 and Catalonia 4-1.

The Valencian and Andalusian teams also reached the semifinals following the same strategy: winning the doubles match and then securing victories in the singles matches. The Valencian Community defeated Castile and León 4-1, and Andalusia did the same against the Balearic Islands, winning 3.5-1.5.

Regarding Flight B, Galicia beat La Rioja (5-0), the Canary Islands beat Cantabria (3.5-1.5), Navarre beat Castilla La Mancha (4-1) and Aragon beat Murcia (3-2).

SEMIFINALS: Madrid and Valencia teams give their rivals no chance

Madrid and the Valencian Community made a statement in the semifinals, offering their rivals little hope. The Madrid team convincingly defeated Catalonia (5-0) in a match that was quickly taken control by Amanda Revuelta and Paula Martín (5/4). Cayetana Fernández (5/4) and Paula de Francisco (2/1) soon secured their place in the semifinals, followed by close victories for Blanca Fernández and Andrea Revuelta, both decided in the 18th round.

In their semifinal match, the Valencian Community defeated Andalusia 4-1 in a much closer contest. The Valencians laid the groundwork in the foursome thanks to Ángela Gómez and África Oliva (4/3). Rocío Tejedo delivered the second decisive blow (7/6), but the third and final one took some time to arrive; it came courtesy of her sister Carla, who overcame Noa Terroba on the 17th hole. Xinyi Gu (1up) completed the victory for the home team.

The consolation final was contested by the Basque Country and Balearic Islands teams, who had won their matches on Wednesday against Asturias (4-1) and Castile and León (3-2), respectively. In both cases, the favorable result in the opening foursome proved decisive in determining the outcome of the head-to-head match.

END

Valencian Community, 5 – Madrid, 4.

Check out the full results, photo gallery and other tournament information below in the Related Links section.