The Mallorcan star is one of Spain’s most outstanding golfers on the international scene, and a strong contender to play in the 2023 Solheim Cup at the Costa del Sol course.
With three titles on the Ladies European Tour and another on the Symetra Tour in the United States, Nuria Iturrioz is one of Spain’s top golfers, mixing her time between the LET and the US LPGA Tours, where she has played since 2020.
Impressed by her excellent sporting pedigree and significant international image, Finca Cortesin has chosen her to be an ambassador of the renowned Costa del Sol course and resort, which will host the Solheim Cup in September 2023. The Finca Cortesín name and brand will therefore be promoted throughout the world in person by the Mallorcan star.
For the signing of this new collaborative agreement between the two parties, Nuria travelled to the Costa del Sol and took advantage of her stay to enjoy the course and the facilities at this multiple award-winning resort, where general manager Vicente Rubio and golf director Francisco de Lancastre were her hosts.
What does it mean for you to become an ambassador for Finca Cortesin, venue of the 2023 Solheim Cup?
It is an honour, bearing in mind the great course and resort that it is and the people who run it. I hope I can return all the support I am receiving from them with my golf.
How important is it for you to have the support of Finca Cortesin in your efforts to be part of the European team?
The Solheim Cup being played here is very good for Spain. With this magnificent course and the rest of the resort's facilities it will be an incredible experience, which encourages me even more, if possible, to fight with all my might to be able to play – and I hope to contribute so that the European team wins. During the year and a half that we have left until the Solheim Cup, I want to come here to practise and prepare for the competitions that I plan to play in, because the facilities are excellent.
Why is it important that resorts like Finca Cortesin support local or national players like you?
Support of this type represents an important boost to women's golf, a way to help make this sport more visible and highly projected in the female sphere. All support in this sense is necessary and important, so that the sport can attract an increasing number of players and fans.
What else do you think could be done to ensure that women's golf continues to grow?
I think it is necessary to give the sport more visibility, which in turn would attract more support and result in sustained growth of the game in the female sphere. More exposure would mean more growth.
What do you think of all the facilities at Finca Cortesin?
I still haven’t been around the whole resort, but what I've already seen is wonderful, clearly highlighted by excellent quality and good taste. No wonder the resort has received so many prestigious international awards and recognitions.
What is your opinion of the course? Is there a particular hole or feature that has especially caught your eye?
I already had the opportunity to play the course years ago during an event on the Gecko Tour and it was a great experience. It is a fantastic course, and also has a very high level of maintenance. And, from what I'm told, for the Solheim Cup they're going to do some things that will make it even better. I really like the par-4s that can be reached in one, and the par-5s that can be reached in two.
In your opinion, what makes Finca Cortesin stand out from many of the other golf resorts in Europe?
Apart from the quality of all its facilities, what I particularly feel here is a family-orientated touch that gives clients a sense of being at home, of feeling good, of enjoying privacy, of exclusivity... Being able to enjoy Finca Cortesin is a true privilege.
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Vicente Rubio – general manager of Finca Cortesin
"Nuria can become one of the best players in the world"
Finca Cortesin general manager Vicente Rubio explains the resort's support for women's golf…
“We have had a firm commitment to women's golf for many years. We started with Tania Elósegui and then with Noemí Jiménez and Laura Gómez, professionals from this area with whom we have always been committed to trying to give them the best facilities we can to help them reach their goals. And, in the case of Nuria specifically, we have brought her on board because she is a great player with incredible potential, who could become one of the best in the world – and possibly also play in the Solheim Cup at Finca Cortesin. We approach the project with great enthusiasm and we believe that for golf in general it will be good to have as many Spanish players as possible at the 2023 Solheim Cup.”
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Nuria and Her Passion for Golf
"I live to practise and compete, and I enjoy it"
She started playing golf at the age of six at the Son Servera Golf Club academy with her coach José Luis Palacios (Chiqui), and she continues to be coached by him today.
At 14, she was selected to attend the Blume National School (High-Performance Centre for Sport) in Madrid, where she developed her playing, physical and mental abilities for five years. At that stage she was a member of both the under-18 and open national teams.
In 2015 she reached seventh position in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR) and in September that same year she made the leap to professionalism. "I've always dreamed of that moment," she says, "with the goal of competing with the best in the world."
Her best quality in golf is “the passion I have for this sport”, so much so that “I live to practise and compete, and I enjoy it”.
