Golf Santander
Golf Santander
Susana Ribeiro will close her international season at the Spanish Open, the 600,000 euro prize money tournament, the last event on the Ladies European Tour (LET) 2020 calendar, from November 26th to the 29th, at the Real Club De Golf Guadalmina.
She will play the Andalucia Costa Del Sol Open De España for the third year in a row and last year she made the cut for the first time in a LET event, finishing in 32th, with 2 strokes over Par.
“I got the confirmation that I will play the Spanish Open in the last week of November. Soon after, I will play the PGA of Portugal tournament at Amendoeira Golf Resort and if there is the Manuel Agrellos Cup – which is not yet confirmed – I will also play it. That’s the rest of the season for me”, Susana Ribeiro told Tee Times Golf, exclusively for Record newspaper.
The 30-year-old Portuguese pro tied for 36th (out of 50 players) in the Santander Golf Tour Madrid tournament, the Spanish Professional Tour, where she usually plays.
This time, at the challenging Golf Santander, on the outskirts of the Spanish capital, the TaylorMade professional scored 158 strokes, 14 above the Par, after two rounds of 79. The best Portuguese player was the national champion Leonor Bessa, tied for 30th (+9).
Real Club De Golf Guadalmina
Golf Santander is a private and exclusive golf course, almost reserved for employees of the financial group and special guests. In 2013, during a Fam Trip, I had the opportunity to play on that fantastic course and its security is extreme. I thought that one is entering another country when we access Cuidad de Santander.
“It is very exclusive – confirms Susana Ribeiro – and to enter we had to be on a list. We had to present our passports to be able to enter and the big advantage is that the course is in great shape, because very few people can play on it”.
“It is a long course and in this particular tournament it was even longer than in the other times in which I played there. It was also windy and cold, it had rained, not allowing the ball to roll a lot. There are lots of bunkers, on the fairways, around the greens, and they are large and deep. If one misses a green, for sure the ball will be in a a bunker”, she added.
“It is a very challenging course. I’ve played there several times and whenever I go there the course is in different conditions due to the weather. It can be very cold, very hot, too much wind or none, and the course is completely different. This time, the greens were very fast, at a speed of 12.5 or 13, something I am not used to and it was the main difficulty I found”.
With only 2 birdies in 36 holes and an aggregate of 14 strokes over Par, it is obvious that she was far from her best performance.
“The final score was quite bad, but I left the course with the feeling of not having played so badly. I am disappointed with the result, although I think my game is going in the right direction”, admitted the vice president of PGA Portugal and the PGA Tour commentator on Eurosport.
“I had a hard time making birdies, because the greens were too fast, I couldn’t find the right pace. The game around the green was also not easy. From the bunker it was difficult to make the ball stop by the flag, the ball just didn’t stop on those greens. On the second day I still created good opportunities, but I didn’t make any birdies” she sorrowed.
The Madrid tournament followed two Santander Golf Tour competitions that also counted for the Ladies European Tour Access Series (LETAS) and, therefore, some players from the second European division stayed another week in Spain to take advantage of this extra tournament. So, the field was stronger than usual on the Spanish Pro Tour.
“The field was very strong and we had more players on the course, more than usual in these Santander Golf Tour tournaments that are not co-sanction with the Ladies European Tour Access Series”, said Susana Ribeiro.
The Spanish amateur Ana Peláez won with a good score of 135 (69+66), -9 and Susana Ribeiro foresees her a bright future: “I had the pleasure of playing alongside the future winner on the first day and she played very well. She didn’t miss a shot, she had many opportunities for birdie, she was a fair winner, as she plays golf at another level. She told me that she was supposed to turn pro this year, but, with this COVID-19 situation, she decided to wait a little longer. Next year she will playing the Qualification School of the LPGA Tour (the American Pro Tour). This shows us how this player is stronger than the average Ladies European Tour Players. I am sure she will be very successful ”.
Hugo Ribeiro / Tee Times Golf (teetimes.pt) for Record newspaper
