The City Council of Roquetas de Mar, chaired by its Mayor, hosted the official presentation of the Challenge de Españ, taking place at Club de Golf Playa Serena in Almeria.
Javier Gervás, General Director of JGolf, opened the presentation thanking all the institutions for their support in "the 24th edition of the Challenge de España, without which it would not be possible to carry out a tournament of this level that will turn Almería into a reference in golf worldwide".
Jamie Hodges, Challenge Tour Director, thanked Almeria "on behalf of the 156 players present at the tournament, for the magnificent welcome and the possibility of playing this important tournament at a crucial time of the season. I want to thank the Royal Spanish Golf Federation for the 24 years supporting this tournament, which makes it a very special edition that will have a wide television coverage worldwide".
Miguel García, President of the Playa Serena Golf Club added that "for us it is a pleasure to have a quality tournament; we are very proud of the work that has been done in such a short time and I want to thank the Roquetas de Mar Town Hall for supporting us; also the members who have understood the importance of the tournament and have accepted the conditions to host a tournament of this level. It has a lot of merit to present the course as it is, and I think I have never seen it in such magnificent conditions thanks to a great team work. Golf is a great unknown for the people of Almeria, and I know that the Challenge de España will put it in value; it is a beautiful, social sport and I invite the people of Almeria to come, visit it and be encouraged to enjoy this sport and the magnificent course that we have".
Pablo Mansilla, President of the Royal Andalusian Golf Federation and on behalf of the RFEG, offered more technical data of the tournament. "We have already 24 editions of the Challenge de España, quite a few of them in Andalusia. This year the Challenge Tour has come twice, and both times to Andalusia. This tournament is very special because the 14 winners of the year are going to play, the leader of the circuit and many of them are fighting to climb to the first category, the DP World Tour. In fact, we have 18 players who have already won on the Tour. It is undoubtedly the most important golf tournament ever played in the province of Almeria and we have a course at the height of this event. There are world-class players like Matteo Manassero, Alvaro Quiros, Andrea Pavan, all winners who are playing to return to the first division. I encourage you to come and see the spectacle that we are going to live with such great players and enjoy golf, which is fun, healthy and is the sport that takes care of the environment".
José Antonio García, from the Diputación de Almería, wanted to "highlight two things. For us it is an honor to support the Challenge de España because we believe that this tournament will place the province of Almeria in the forefront worldwide. We are committed to golf for several reasons, firstly, because we know that golf plays a key role in tourism development and it is one of our objectives, that Almeria is a golf tourist destination. We have 8 spectacular 18-hole courses and thanks to the Challenge de España, Almeria, Roquetas de Mar will be placed in the focus of world golf. We want golf to contribute to the socio-economic development of the province thanks to tourism, the tourists who come to play golf generate an important wealth and the Challenge de España will contribute to this. It is important that the three administrations go hand in hand in this type of sporting events that bring so much to the province of Almeria and Roquetas de Mar is being a benchmark in sports".
José Vélez Provincial Delegate of Tourism, Culture and Sports of the Junta de Andalucía said that "from the Junta de Andalucía we are very clear that Andalusia is the golf destination par excellence, we are the Autonomous Community with more golf courses and I want to thank the Challenge Tour because, coming here, shows that it is a destination that has the resources you need this sport. In the province we have first class courses and the Challenge de España is going to put us on the map, we are going to make Almeria, specifically Roquetas de Mar, an international reference and that is not achieved every day. Indeed many people do not know the golf courses, in Almeria we have a fantastic school in El Toyo, and we want to promote it by showing that it is a sport available to everyone. We have the youngest player, Arián Rodríguez from Almeria, who is only 15 years old and will play the tournament with these great figures. I hope the players enjoy the tournament, the weather, the gastronomy and our heritage. And those who cannot follow it live should enjoy it through the channels. We receive hundreds of thousands of visitors to play golf in our province and we have to continue promoting it".
Gabriel Amat, Mayor of Roquetas de Mar closed the ceremony by thanking "all those present for their support for the Challenge of Spain, an international tournament that demonstrates the support of Roquetas de Mar for golf. We are the municipality that has almost 60% of tourism in the province, the 7th municipality of Andalusia to which tourists travel. Without having the infrastructure that other provinces have is very important and has much merit to be such an important destination. It is the municipality with the highest growth in population, which is worth continuing to work hard for it because we believe in its potential. I want to thank the Board and the Council for their union and continue to grow and enlarge if possible, that is the line that we will continue in Roquetas de Mar.
The Challenge de España is sponsored by the Royal Spanish Golf Federation together with the Consejo Superior de Deportes, the City Council of Roquetas de Mar, the Diputación de Almería, the Junta de Andalucía, the Challenge Tour, the Real Federación Andaluza de Golf, as well as Kyocera (official printing services), Allianz, Mahou San Miguel, Solán de Cabras, AON, BCD Sports, Rentokil, Titleist, Hotel Bahía Serena, Nordpoolen.nu and Nextcaddy. All this under the organization of JGolf.
