Carlota Ciganda returns to the scene of her eighth Ladies European Tour (LET) title this week as she plays in the season-ending Andalucía Costa del Sol Open de España presented by Oysho.
The Spanish star clinched a one-stroke victory at Real Guadalhorce Club de Golf in 2024 defeating Belgium’s Manon De Roey and is defending her title this week.
Ciganda is a two-time champion of the tournament having won in 2021 and 2024 and is looking to make history by becoming the first player to win the tournament three times.
“It’s always special to play in Spain, I love coming back here and playing here in my home country is always very nice,” she said. “I have a lot of family and friends, so it’s always a great week for me and I’m excited for the challenge.
“I always remember the last day last year with everyone there. Usually winning it’s amazing, but having all of us together, going for dinners and spending time as a family. I loved that.
“It would be very special to be the player that wins the event three times because no-one has done it before. I’m just happy to be here, to play, to enjoy, and we’ll see what happens. I will try my best, and hopefully that’s good enough.”
Ciganda knows the course well having triumphed here in 2024 but admits the windy conditions on the practice days mean it is playing differently.
She added: “I played nine today and it was a little bit firmer and very windy today. I don’t know how much we can take from it with the wind this week, but it was extremely windy. I’s hard to know how it’s going to be playing. I’m excited to see how the course will play.”
This is the 27th and final event of the LET season and the winner of the LET Order of Merit will be crowned at the end of the week.
Ciganda will be playing alongside the top two players in the Order of Merit, as she tees it up with Singapore’s Shannon Tan and England’s Mimi Rhodes in round one at 12.16 pm (local time) on Thursday.
The eight-time LET winner, who won the Order of Merit in 2012, is excited to play alongside the young duo.
“It’s great having all these youngsters coming up. Mimi Rhodes winning three times and Shannon Tan twice, so many good players,” she explained.
“It’s always nice when they come to the last tournament and whoever plays the best will win the Order of Merit. It’s a great award.
“It’s going to be refreshing. It’s always nice to play with young players. They have a good energy and they are really good. I’m very excited to be on that group on Thursday.”
The Andalucía Costa del Sol Open de España presented by Oysho will take place between 27-30 November at Real Guadalhorce Club de Golf.
Follow all the action throughout on our socials – @LETgolf on Instagram, TikTok and X, and Ladies European Tour on YouTube and Facebook – #OpenDeEspaña.
