The cup of the most important women’s tournament in the world, pitting the best players from Europe and the USA, was on display in La Cala on Thursday.

 

Published: 21st July 2023

 

The Solheim Cup trophy, which will be held for the first time in Spain from the 18th to the 24th of September at the Cortesín de Casares estate, arrived in Mijas on the afternoon of Wednesday 19th as if it had fallen from the sky.

This is a women’s professional golf tournament, the most important on the international calendar, which pits teams from Europe and the United States against each other every two
years. After touring the most emblematic points of Mijas Pueblo in June, the cup landed in a hot air balloon yesterday at La Cala Resort and on Thursday 20th it was exhibited at La Cala.

“This is the second time that we welcome this important trophy which, on its first visit, we symbolically toured through the streets of Mijas Pueblo and today it will travel around La Cala”, said the mayor of Mijas, Josele González (PSOE), who added that “golf is part of the economic, employment, social and tourist revitalisation of our municipality and, therefore, we want to get involved in some way in this project”.

The first stop of the trophy in La Cala was at El Torreón. There, the Councillor for Tourism of the Mijas Town Hall, José Carlos Martín (Cs), valued the reception of the cup of this tournament because “it is something that is creating great expectation and is letting the few who do not know our golf segment become aware about the important courses that we have here. This reception is a way of symbolising the importance of our municipality in this sector and the international positioning we have achieved by becoming one of the preferred golf destinations in the world. There is nothing better than to see the 12 courses we have and their magnitude from above”.

Tourist promotion

The 2023 Solheim Cup presents the Costa del Sol and Mijas with an unbeatable opportunity to reinforce its position as a golf tourist destination, as well as strengthening its commitment to women’s sport. “The idea is that they get to know our golf courses and, in addition, all the people who come to follow this event can enjoy the golf courses we currently boast on the Costa del Sol after the tournament, and especially, and in a very particular way, the courses we have in Mijas”, added the mayor.

The cup, which will be presented to the winning team, has been travelling around Spain for a year. It has passed through 110 golf courses. Its penultimate stop is in Mijas, where two representatives of the Chaparral and La Cala Resort clubs are its ambassadors. They were also in charge of taking it around the centre of La Cala.

“It is a unique occasion, it is a great pride to be able to represent women’s golf and show the world that there are some great sportswomen, some great women who play golf; so I am very excited and proud to walk it around our town, around Mijas, and also to show that Mijas is a fantastic golf destination, with golf, beach... Everything you could wish for”, said the Solheim Cup ambassador for La Cala Resort, Silvia Ortega.

Her partner, Mette Mari Eide, Solheim Cup ambassador for El Chaparral, said: “We are on the Costa del Golf, so it is very important that we promote the Solheim Cup. The cup was previously in Ohio, USA, and now it is here; it is important because many tourists play golf, so we encourage them to come to Mijas, Andalusia and the south of Spain. All of us ambassadors are really enjoying this, it’s very exciting. We’ve met some of the girls who are going to play, like Susan Petersen, the captain of the European team”.

The Solheim Cup was first played in Florida in 1990. Two teams of 12 players representing Europe and the United States compete over three days in the same format as the Ryder Cup. In the list of victories, the American team has won 10 times, while the European team has won seven.

 

Source: Mijas Comunicación S.A.