Desert Springs Resort to host European Tour Qualifying School second stage
Desert Springs Resort has been selected to host this years European Tour Qualifying School Second Stage between Thursday 7th – Sunday 10th November 2019.
Desert Springs Director of Golf, Simon Coaker remarked:
“Desert Springs Resort is delighted to have been invited to be host to the European Tour for what will now be the third consecutive year.
The hosting of such a prestigious event as this is testimony to the quality of the course and the team at Desert Springs Resort and one that all our residents and members at Desert Springs should be justly proud of.
We very much look forward to welcoming the class of 2019 to Desert Springs Resort and to providing them with a wonderful experience.”
Since 1976, The European Tour Qualifying School has been held at the end of each season to establish which players, not otherwise exempt, will gain their playing privileges on the Tour for the following season through a qualifying competition.
It’s a tough school for one of golf’s most coveted prizes, namely Membership of The European Tour and a place among the golfing elite. The Qualifying School is held in three stages – dependent on the individual’s status – at a series of venues in the UK and Continental Europe. In the region of 1,000 competitors enter the Qualifying School each year, all aiming for a European Tour card, awarded to the top 25 and ties following the Final Stage.
A player progressing through all three stages will have to play 252 holes under the most intense pressure.
The leading 25 players (plus those tied for 25th place) will earn Category 15 Membership of The European Tour for the following season.
Mike Stewart, European Tour Qualifying School Director said:
“We are thrilled to be confirm that Desert Springs will continue to host the Qualifying School as part of the 2019 schedule.
Over the past couple of years the resort has proven that it has exactly what it takes to host some of the world’s best players, and I am certain that our players will thoroughly enjoy the challenge posed by the unique championship desert golf course.
“We must say thank you to everyone at Desert Springs, who played a key role in enabling the club to be part of the Qualifying School network.”
Please see below the schedule for the 2019 European Tour Qualifying Second Stage.
- Tuesday 5th November Official Practice Day
- Wednesday 6th November Official Practice Day
- Thursday 7th November Tournament Round 1
- Friday 8th November Tournament Round 2
- Saturday 9th November Tournament Round 3
- Sunday 10th November Tournament Round 4
- Monday 11th November Course Reserved in case of bad weather
NOTE TO EDITORS
About Desert Springs Resort
Opened in 2001, Desert Springs Resort quickly established an international reputation for outstanding quality, attracting discerning golfers, international elite amateur teams and professionals, as well as major international events, including two Spanish Amateur Opens, host to the 2015, 2016 & 2018 PGA Europro Tour Championships and the 2017 & 2018 2nd Stage of the European Tour Qualifying School.
Resort accommodation is provided in the villas, apartments & townhouses available for holidays and short breaks at Desert Springs Resort. Meals are served in the resort’s Croc Restaurant, part of the family-friendly Crocodile Club that is geared up for a wide variety of leisure activities and the award-winning El Torrente Restaurant at the Club House.
Visiting golfers benefit from resort gated security and full management and services that ensure all aspects of a golfer’s stay are taken care of. These include airport transfers, food hamper deliveries, babysitting and both resort and off-resort restaurant reservations.
- For details of Cricket & Sports Training Camps, Corporate Golf Events and Meetings at Desert Springs call 01242 680 116 or visit the website, desertspringsresort.es
- To find out more about the Desert Springs Resort click HERE.
Additional background Information
Warm weather winter training camps at Desert Springs
Desert Springs, Europe’s only international award-winning luxury family resort and championship desert golf course, is already known as a resort specialising in family holidays, however it has rapidly gained popularity as a centre for warm-weather training for cricketers, athletes, and footballers, as well as golfers and is proving to be one of the most popular destinations for sports warm weather winter training camps.
All sports camps to Desert Springs are bespoke. If desired, the programme can include time away from the resort for some local sightseeing in what many regard as ‘the real Spain.’
During their stay attendees have opportunities to swim, play tennis and use the gymnasium, trim trail, jogging tracks, paddle tennis and beach volley ball courts.
Desert Springs is easy to reach from the UK, thanks to three international airports. They are: Almeria Airport, around 40 minutes away by road; Murcia International Airport, 70 minutes by car, and Alicante Airport which is a drive of less than two hours. Airlines currently flying to the region from the UK include British Airways, EasyJet, Ryanair, Jet2, and Fly Thomas Cook.
The Desert Springs Resort & Golf Club
Facilities already completed and in use at Desert Springs Resort include:
- The Indiana course, a par 72 -18-hole USGA specification golf course, designed by former Great Britain and Ireland Golf Team Captain Peter McEvoy who was inspired by the desert courses of Arizona and California;
- a golf academy whose PGA qualified teaching professionals cater for several international teams, for many of the English County Union’s elite squads; PGA European Tour, PGA Europro Tour and LET players.
- two tennis courts, two padel courts, beach volley ball and two football pitches – one is a full-size grass pitch; the other is designed for five-a-side games;
- a cricket ground with an eighteen (18) wicket square, constructed to ECB standards and specifications open all year round. Complimented by a Marquee pavilion, sightscreens, scoreboard, sprint strips, and associated facilities, it provides an outstanding facility to practice and play cricket.
- a Cricket Academy with facilities that comprise; twenty-four (24) grass wickets and run up with nets, one artificial wicket with nets, a full length artificial grass wicket, a Professional Bola Bowling Machine with 28 ball feeder, requisite training equipment and a specific hard standing area, which provides outside space for facilities such as a free weights gym, stretching mats and a medical area.
- a Spanish colonial style Golf Club House with a lounge, bar, restaurant, locker rooms, TV and reading rooms, and a Ralph Lauren Golf Boutique;
- The Crocodile Club which provides family fun at the heart of the resort with pools, equipped sand play areas, a kid’s battery powered John Deere Gator circuit as well as a Jacuzzi, sun lawns and a pool bar;
- a health and fitness club and spa.
Awards
Desert Springs Resort was awarded Best Golf Resort for Groups in Europe by the 2016 European Group Travel Awards (EGTA). The Indiana Course at Desert Springs Resort has also been recognised as the 6th Best Golf Course in Spain, based on the reviews of players who rated the course on the Leading Courses website. Out of the 345 courses present on this ranking the Indiana Course at Desert Springs occupies 6th place with a score of 8,8/10, and awards Desert Springs Golf Club with the “Outstanding” badge. This distinction is only given to the best 10 courses in the country.
Desert Springs Resort has been awarded the Daily Mail Best Almeria Award and the Bentley International Property Awards for the Best Spain Development and Best Architecture, as well as the Spanish National Madera Verde Prize for Environmentally Sensitive Development, the SICTED award for the distinction of “Commitment to Tourism Quality” and Andalucía’s Premier Tourism prize for 2017, the coveted and prestigious ‘Excellence in Management’ Award.
El Torrente Restaurant has received the New Millennium International Gastronomy Award for the Tourist, Hotel and Catering Industry. This award was created by the Trade Leaders Club with the aim of distinguishing companies from all countries, for the outstanding quality of their products or services.
The climate of the Almanzora coastal region
Desert Springs takes its name from the region’s desert microclimate, which is unique in Europe. It has the warmest winter weather on the continent with an annual average of more than nine hours of daily sunshine and maximum daily temperatures of between 16°C (60°F) and 30°C (86°F) throughout the year. Annual rainfall is less than 200 mm. The Almanzora coastal waters are among the cleanest and warmest in Europe, attracting both fish and diving enthusiasts.
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Reader enquiries: NOTE: High Resolution Images available upon request. |
| Simon Coaker
The Almanzora Group Ltd The Manor, Boddington, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire GL51 0TJ Tel: +44 (0) 1242 680116 Mob: +34 678 235 716 e: scc@almanzora.com www.desertspringsresort.es |
Spacious fairway frontage villas that allow for an unforgettable stay at Desert Springs Resort
Desert Springs Resort apartments that overlook the championship Indiana course
