With competitiveness on the golf course, a charitable goal in mind and a good atmosphere off the court, the first edition of the Spanish Footballers' Cup, together with the Luzón Foundation, has come to a close. 

After two days of play, the organizers, with the help of the players, have raised a total of €3,400, combining all entry fees and the 149 birdies recorded on the course (75 on Tuesday and 74 on Wednesday). It's worth noting that the organizers donate €5 for every net birdie during the competition.

The tournament unfolded in an excellent atmosphere over two days of intense competition at the Santander Golf Championship Course in Madrid, where five winners were crowned in each of the official playing categories. The first two categories were played in Strokeplay format, while the remaining three, 3rd, 4th, and 5th, were played in Stableford. 

The winners were the following:

First place in the 5th category with 90 points, David Rodríguez Lombán.

First place in the 4th category with 95 points, Luis Milla Manzanares.

First place in the 3rd category with 61 points, Jesús Pastor Camacho.

First place in the 2nd category with 176 strokes, Esteban Vigo Benítez.

First place overall with 144 strokes, Juan Elía Vallejo.

Better known as Juantxo Elía, the former Osasuna goalkeeper who made his La Liga debut with the Navarrese club, expressed his satisfaction with the result and also thanked the organizers: “It was fantastic, I have to congratulate the organizers, they took care of every detail, they treated us like royalty, the pitch and facilities are impressive. I have nothing but praise for everyone who made this event possible and I hope there will be many more of us next year because it's one of the best events I've ever been to.”.

The awards ceremony took place in the Par 4 room of Golf Santander, and was attended by Asís de Bastida, director of Golf Santander; Ignacio Guerras, president of the Royal Golf Federation of Madrid and Fernando Escribano, vice president of the Luzón Foundation. 

“Many diseases have other platforms. However, ALS has always been linked to the world of sports. Athletes have always united because of this disease. The main mission of the Luzón Foundation is to raise awareness of ALS, create a community of ALS patients, and promote research into this terrible disease. Francisco Luzón, our founder, left us with a motto: “Never give up. Giving up is the last resort.”. 

Juan Carlos Unzué, patron of the Luzón Foundation, has adopted this motto. He now dedicates his efforts to the 4,000 ALS patients, whom he calls "Team Juancar." Football and golf have joined forces, and the funds raised will go towards ALS research. "On behalf of the foundation, the patients, and Juan Carlos, I want to extend our warmest regards and deepest gratitude. Please continue to support us; ours is a worthy cause," explained Fernando Escribano.

For his part, Ignacio Guerras emphasized that “when the Royal Madrid Golf Federation received the proposal to participate in this project, we immediately embraced it. We believe it is a very important initiative, leveraging the strength that you athletes possess. It is a wonderful initiative, and we thank you very much for being the pioneers. I hope that in the coming years this will continue to grow.”.

Asís de Bastida, director of Golf Santander, also expressed his “gratitude and satisfaction for the celebration of this wonderful initiative. We are delighted to have hosted the first edition of the Spanish Footballers' Cup and hope there will be many more.”.

The tournament has been supported by the Luzón Foundation, Banco Santander, the Royal Madrid Golf Federation and Golf Santander, the event's venue.

SOURCE: Event Organization