MADRID, 15 Jul. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Spanish men’s and women’s golf teams won two separate European Championships for teams in the absolute amateur category this Saturday, played respectively in Lasne (Belgium) and Hämeenlinna (Finland), and in both cases achieved the sixth title in their history in said tournaments.
With forcefulness and talent, Spain reissued the men’s title on the course of the Royal Waterloo Golf Club, establishing itself as a continental power. The Spanish success was forged by a second place in the previous phase and the subsequent victories against Italy (5/2), in the quarterfinals, and against England (4.5/2.5), in the semifinals.
In the final against Denmark, the Spanish team offered a good image from the start. This was first seen in the matches in pairs, where José Luis Ballester and Jaime Montojo got their duel on track against Jacob Olesen and Gustav Frimodt, while Luis Masaveu and Ángel Ayora beat Frederik Kjettrup and Jens Thysted.
After having added those two points in the tie, came the five evening individual matches. The situation worsened due to the push of Kjettrup, Frimodt and Olesen, who won their respective duels against the unprecedented Javier Barcos (3/2), Masaveu (5/4) and Ballester (4/3), putting Denmark ahead in the overall score (2/3).
Then, all eyes focused on the final performance of Montojo and Ayora. The first, always with an advantage from the beginning against Kristian Hjort, won his commitment with a solvent 2/1. And then Ayora was also ahead from the beginning against Mads Laage, obtaining the final victory (3/2) and with it the sixth Spanish gold.
For their part, Cayetana Fernández, Carolina López-Chacarra, Julia López, Lucía López, Carla Tejedo and Carla Bernat were the architects of the success of the women’s team on their tour of the Tawast Golf & Country Club course, in southern Finland. In the final, they defeated the powerful team of England by 4.5/2.5.
Before winning this new title in the women’s competition, the Spanish team had already won it in 1995, 2003, 2005, 2007 and 2013. Meanwhile, the men had won the editions played in 1997, 2003, 2014, 2017 and 2022.