FITUR, the International Tourism Fair held annually in Spain, and more specifically the Andalucia Hall has hosted the presentation of the ‘Solheim Cup Trophy Tour’, an initiative that will bring the cup of this competition to most of the Spanish golf clubs.
The presentation ceremony of the ‘Solheim Cup Trophy Tour’ was attended by Manuel Munoz, Secretary for Tourism of the Andalucia Council; Francisco Salado, President of Malaga Provincial Council and the Costa del Sol Tourist Board; Jose Antonio Mena, Mayor of Benahavis; Manuel Cardena, Executive CEO of Acosol; and Gonzaga Escauriaza, President of the Spanish Golf Federation.
The president of the federation began by highlighting this initiative, saying: “The trophy’s journey will mean that, thanks to the Solheim Cup, golf will go beyond its own sphere. In short, this event will be very important socially and not only for Andalucia but for the whole of Spain.”
Gonzaga Escauriaza also highlighted: “The opportunity to consolidate our position as the number one tourist destination in the world and to access the American market. The motivation of the Spanish professional players to play the Solheim Cup and the curiosity that it will create for people who don’t play golf.”
Manuel Cardeña, executive managing director of Acosol, expressed himself in similar terms, pointing out that “there is no better showcase to show the quality of our golf courses than to bet on this competition. The tournament trip is a great idea and will serve to involve the whole country in this Solheim Cup adventure.”
José Antonio Mena, Mayor of Benahavís, also emphasised the great opportunity offered by the Solheim Cup. He said: “Our municipality is very proud to collaborate with this tournament. Golf is a fundamental pillar for Benahavís and the Solheim Cup will be important to attract the tourism that is so important for our economy. We are sure it will be a success that we will all enjoy together.”
For his part, Francisco Salado, president of the Málaga Provincial Council and Costa del Sol Tourism, congratulated all the administrations for what he described as ‘a dream come true’. He said: “The dream is coming true, it has its phases, and one of them is this journey of the trophy that will serve as an excellent promotion of the event, in the style of the Olympic torch, touring a large part of the Spanish countryside and ending in the many fields of Malaga.”
Manuel Muñoz, Secretary for Tourism of the Andalucía Council, closed the event by describing it as “a magnificent idea to take the Solheim Cup trophy around the courses of Spain, a brilliant way of publicising the great quality of the Andalusian courses.”
The future of Spanish women’s golf did not miss the event
The presentation of the “Solheim Cup Trophy Tour” was also attended by Cayetana Fernández and Paula Martín, two of the main promises of Spanish women’s amateur golf.
Cayetana Fernández was part, along with Andrea Revuelta, of the winning team of the 2021 PING Junior Solheim Cup, a tournament that since 2002 has been the version of the Solheim Cup for amateur players aged 12 to 18.
Paula Martín, meanwhile, was the winner of last year’s “Objective 2023”, a programme of the RFEG and Deporte & Business to improve the performance of elite golfers and encourage competition among the youngest golfers with the option of qualifying for the 2023 European PING Junior Solheim Cup team.
First stop: the RFEG headquarters
The itinerary of the Solheim Cup trophy will first stop at the Royal Spanish Golf Federation and the National Golf Centre in Madrid and will continue to the various Spanish golf clubs that have a Solheim Cup Ambassador.
For this reason, the trophy was presented by Manuel Muñoz to Mar Ruiz de la Torre, president of the Women’s Technical Committee of the Royal Spanish Golf Federation and one of the many ambassadors of the tournament in Spain.
The work of the Solheim Cup Ambassadors is very important, as during the stay of the trophy in each of the clubs, they will be the ones to organise and develop the different promotional activities.
These activities will generate the opportunity to raise awareness of women’s golf in different social environments, create interest in people who have not had contact with the sport before and increase the motivation of women and young people for golf.
A true work of art
The Solheim Cup trophy is a crystal cup made by the prestigious Irish firm Waterford Crystal, founded in 1783 by the Penrose brothers.
Weighing just over 9 kilos, the cup is almost half a metre high (49 cm exactly), including the mahogany base, and has a diameter of almost 11.50 cm at the top and almost 21 cm at the bottom.
After being commissioned by the Solheim Cup organisers, Waterford Crystal entrusted the creation of the trophy to Billy Briggs, one of its top designers.
Briggs chose sleek, flowing lines for this cup as a tribute to sporting success, but without forgoing exquisite decoration that required the best of three fundamental glassmaking processes: blowing, cutting and engraving.
In addition, the central area of the trophy is occupied by an oval in which the name of the Solheim Cup and the silhouette of the cup appear. This was done using an ancient technique that originated in ancient Egypt and has hardly changed since the Middle Ages.
This whole process gave rise, possibly, to one of the most attractive and recognisable trophies in the world of golf, a jewel that according to its creators “was born of fire and sand”, and which is the unmistakable icon of the most important competition in women’s golf.
During its tour around Spain, the Solheim Cup trophy will travel with a stand and a display case and will be displayed in the most prominent corner of each host club.
The Solheim Cup 2023, an event of exceptional public interest whose official venue is Finca Cortesín, is sponsored by PING, Costa del Sol and Rolex as global partners; by Andalucía, Acosol, Marbella Town Hall and Benahavís Town Hall as official partners, and by Reale Seguros as official sponsor. Solán de Cabras, Eversheds Sutherland and Casares Town Hall are official suppliers. Marca and Radio Marca are official media. LET, LPGA, RFEG, CSD, RFGA and Deporte & Business collaborate in its organisation.
More information on the website www.solheimcup2023.eu, on the Twitter account @SolheimCup2023, on the Instagram account @solheimcup2023esp and on the Facebook page Solheim Cup 2023.
