Costa del Sol Open de España creates the Celia Barquín Award for the best amateur golfer.
The Andalucía Costa del Sol Open de España, the most important women's professional tournament held in Spain on a regular basis, has created the Celia Barquín Award to reward each year the best amateur player who participates in this prestigious competition, which in 2022 will be held at the Alferini Golf near Villa Padierna. near Estepona between 24 and 27 November.
The Celia Barquín Award is a tribute to the Cantabrian golfer with strong sporting links to the Principality of Asturias Golf Federation, who was murdered in the United States in 2018, just a few weeks after becoming European Absolute champion.
Celia, a regular member of the Spanish national teams, continued her sporting career at Iowa State University - where she was studying civil engineering - and was chosen as Sportswoman of the Year at that university.
The Celia Barquín Award is reserved for the best amateur of the tournament. Three promising golfers have been invited; the current Spanish champion and the two leaders in the World Amateur Ranking two months before the start of the tournament.
Based on this criteria - the players invited to the tournament in 2022 are Paula Martín, as Spanish Amateur champion, Cayetana Fernández and Carla Tejedo, as the best Spanish players available in the World Amateur Ranking.
Celia Barquín’s career
Runner-up in the Spanish Junior Championship in 2006 and Spanish Junior Champion in 2010, Celia Barquín entered the Blume National Golf School in the 2012-2013 season endorsed by her first two international victories at the Grand Prix of Chiberta in 2011 and 2012, and again in 2013.
An outstanding team player, Celia Barquín contributed to winning bronze and silver medals at the European Women's Team Championships in 2015 and 2016 as a prelude to her individual success, which came to fruition on 28 July 2018, when she was proclaimed brilliant individual European champion.
On the Slovakian course of Penati Golf Club, she won in an outstanding way over all her rivals, achieving a title that had already been honoured by many Spanish winners with Carlota Ciganda (2004 and 2008), Belén Mozo (2006), Luna Sobrón (2014) and María Parra (2015).