The outgoing General Secretary of the Spanish Golf Federation, Luis Álvarez de Bohorques, was honoured by The European Tour during the Andalucía Open de España Valle Romano at San Roque Club, Cadiz.
George O’Grady, Executive Director of The European Tour, presented Álvarez de Bohorques with a silver salver in recognition of his 40 years’ service to the Federation in a ceremony watched by officials from The European Tour and golf promoter Amen Corner, plus Angel de La Riva, President of the Andalucian Golf Federation.
Angel Gallardo, President of PGA European Tour South, said: “Luis has been at the helm a long time and through a significant period in the growth of golf in Spain, the pinnacle of which was the staging of The Ryder Cup at Valderrama in 1997 and the launch of the Federation’s own golf course, which was opened by His Majesty King Juan Carlos I of Spain in March this year.”
His Majesty King Juan Carlos I inaugurated the Centro Nacional de golf – National Golf Centre - in Madrid, an 18 hole golf course and Academy located on reclaimed land on the outskirts of the Spanish capital. The National Centre, which was built on the site of a former civic rubbish tip, is now the headquarters of the Spanish Golf Federation.
Golf in Spain had 45,000 registered golfers at the start of the 1990s, with the figure rising to 100,000 by 1995 and is now currently 280,000 and growing at a rate of 10 per cent per annum.
