A luxurious Spanish Open that will decide the European No. 1 of the year

The Spain’s Andalusia Costa del Sol Openfrom Thursday to Sunday in the Marbella field of Villa Padierna (Malaga)is the last tournament of the season and will decide who is the new number 1 of the women’s European circuit, an honor that will be played for linn grant Y Maja Stark23 and 22 years old, respectively.

Both will participate in Navarrese Charlotte Ciganda the stellar game of the first day (12:05 pm). Ciganda defends the title and leads the Azahara Munoz Y Ana Pelaez the group of 16 Spanish players present at the home Open.

The two young Swedish golfers impressed in 2022 where they won four and three titles, respectively, to occupy first and second place in Racing on the Costa del Sol: Grant has 3,394 points, just 69 more than his compatriot (3,325).

“I’m very happy with the season I’ve had, I’ve had good results and that’s what makes me happy to play. Leading the Race on the Costa del Sol in this tournament is a real gift”, said Grant.

“This tournament is a very interesting challenge, the best players on the circuit are there and it’s a good way to end the year. I have the idea to win the tournament and also the order of merit. The season has been long, but I will take all the strength I have left to finish the year as well as possible,” said Stark.

At this time of year, and more playing in Andalusia, very close to Finca Cortesinthe field that will host the Solheim Cup 2023it’s inevitable to imagine this biennial tournament pitting the best from Europe and the United States against each other, but Nordic golfers prefer to take it slow.

“The first thing is to finish this season as much as possible, but yes, obviously your head is starting to think about next year and, of course, the Solheim Cup”, admitted Grant. “It’s impossible to go to play the Andalucía Costa del Sol Open in Spain and not think about the Solheim Cup”, added Stark.

“The season has been good, but there are inconsistencies in LPGA Tours. You can’t be 100% every week. I love playing for my country. I don’t know if it’s because of the support I receive or because of the adrenaline, but I’m always at my best and I like to think that I reached 100% for this tournament. Then I want to rest and recharge my batteries for next year”, said Ciganda.

It has nothing to do, therefore, with the time that Azahara Muñoz has. For the player from Malaga, playing in his land and receiving the love of his family and friends motivates him a lot, but it should not be forgotten that he has been away from the golf courses since February, when he a mother, and didn’t return to competition until September.

“I really wanted to play this tournament, since in addition to being at home, I feel that I still have more laps to play and this championship is perfect. It will be four days that will help me a lot in my preparation”, explains Azahara Muñoz, who avoids making the trip with her son Lucas an excuse, because “it is a matter of preparation. It’s true that there are more difficult nights than others, but overall I think I’m getting better”.

Ana Peláez, for her part, can hardly believe that she is sitting “with the wonderful players” after a year “of study, and not only about golf but everything that surrounds her “, although he immediately feels a competitive streak when he reassures. he openly came to the Andalucía Costa del Sol Open in Spain thinking big, because “my goal is always to win”. The girl from Malaga got the LET card after winning the Comunidad de Madrid Ladies Open at the beginning of the season.

Ana Peláez, fifth classified in the Race To Costa del Sol, also reflected on her first year as a professional and acknowledged that “I put a lot of pressure on myself, but today it is otherwise. I want to feel that pressure and I prefer it to nobody noticing me”.

Perhaps that is why Ana Peláez has one of her plans to get the LPGA card to “fight the best”, while her voice does not tremble when she acknowledges that the Solheim Cup is marked in red on her calendar because “I want to play, this is one of my goals, especially playing in Andalusia”.