Jarama-RACE Golf Club, venue for the first Comunidad de Madrid Ladies Open, hosted the opening tournament press conference today, heralding the return of the LET to Madrid.
The first LET tournament of the season on European soil, to be played from May 5-8, was attended by Alberto Tomé, deputy counsellor of Culture, Tourism and Sport for the Community of Madrid; D. Juan Ignacio Guerras Pérez, president of the Madrid Golf Federation, Carlos Fernández Grande, director of Jarama-RACE Golf Club; Jaime Salaverri, vice president of the Real Federación Española de Golf and president of the committee of professionals, Alicia Garrido, president of Deporte and Business; Joao Pinto, Ladies European Tour tournament director and LET players Carmen Alonso and Nuria Iturrioz.
Ignacio Guerras opened the speeches by thanking the sponsors and “a historic golf club, the work of the best Spanish designer -Javier Arana-, for hosting this Comunidad de Madrid Ladies Open” and finished by wishing luck to all the Spanish players and encouraging the public to attend the tournament.
He was followed by Carlos Fernández, who expressed his wish that both golfers and players “take a great impression of our course. I have to highlight the work of all the people in the club and thank the members for their support and patience.”
Jaime Salaverri, for his part, highlighted the role of Spain in the organisation of tournaments on the Ladies European Tour, “without a doubt, the country that hosts the most events this season,” and stressed to encourage the public to come to see the competition.
Carmen Alonso did not hide her joy and emotion “to play in Madrid, in my home and in my club”, and “the course will not be easy, since it has fairly high rough and therefore, the important thing will be to put the ball in the fairway,” and acknowledged that knowing the course represents a “small advantage because you know where you have to put the ball and where not to, but today all the players study all the courses thoroughly. In golf, you play against yourself. The important thing is to do your job well and give yourself the opportunity to win.”
Nuria Iturrioz also acknowledged that this tournament will be special “playing it in front of my friends and my family”, and did not hesitate to point out that “I come for the trophy, I like the pressure of trying to keep the trophy in Spain”.
Joao Pinto, for his part, reiterated his thanks to the Community of Madrid “for making possible a tournament of this magnitude.”
Alicia Garrido recalled how hard it has been to get this tournament “rolling,” adding “but the effort has been worth it and we hope that it has continuity and can visit other courses in the Community of Madrid in the future” and she praised the Jarama-RACE Golf Club for its great effort: “it has a tremendous team and is one of the best courses in Spain to organise an LET tournament”.
The event was closed by Alberto Tomé, who highlighted “the commitment of the Community of Madrid to bring a first-class women’s golf tournament, since this sport is deeply rooted in our region” and recalled that this championship “is surrounded by complementary activities to educate in values linked to sport”.
Tomorrow the traditional Pro Am will be played, with teams formed by a professional and three amateurs, and on Thursday the professional tournament will tee off.
Anyone who wants to witness the event for free, can download their ticket through the following link: Tickets here https://www.madridladiesopen.com/entradas-2022/
Sponsors
The Comunidad de Madrid Ladies Open is sponsored by the Comunidad de Madrid as the main sponsor; by the Royal Spanish Golf Federation (RFEG), the Madrid Golf Federation (FGM) and Sport & Business (D&B) as organizers; by the Jarama-RACE Golf Club as the venue for the event; and by Kyocera, Mahou, PING, Solán de Cabras, Titleist and Volvo as official suppliers.
About RACE
The sports complex of the RACE (Real Automóvil Club de España) is located on the outskirts of Madrid, about 30 kilometers along the Burgos road, next to the Jarama RACE Madrid Circuit. In its facilities, there is the 18-hole golf course, inaugurated in 1967 and designed by Javier Arana. Thanks to its proximity to the Sierra Norte, this club offers a pleasant landscape and beautiful views of the Sierra de Madrid.
With more than 5 kilometers in length, the RACE golf course is one of the longest in Spain. Wide fairways, with holm oaks and pine trees on all holes, without excessively difficult bunkers and without obstacles with water, is an entertaining course for both amateurs and professionals alike.
About The Madrid Golf Federation
The Madrid Golf Federation, dedicated to the promotion of golf in the Community of Madrid for more than half a century with the organization of more than 250 annual tournaments for all types of golfers among its 90,000 members -regardless of their age, gender and level of play- exercises this promotion with special attention on the Golf Plan in Schools, where golf is part of the subject of Physical Education in a regulated way.
A promotion supported by the 34 golf and learning facilities of the Community of Madrid that work to turn golf into the second sport, which represents a tourist and sports attraction for an industry that generates more than 235 million euros per year of income and that also represents the first customer of reclaimed water -not suitable for consumption- of the Community of Madrid.
