2024-04-14 19:38:04
These two tournaments, which will continue until Saturday, are organized by the Royal Moroccan Golf Federation (FRMG) and the Hassan II Golf Trophy Association, under the High Patronage of HM King Mohammed VI.
Having become an essential event on the European Tour of golf since 2010, this year the Hassan II Trophy will see the participation of 66 champions from the American PGA Tour circuit, who have won more than 200 victories on this circuit, including 11 major tournaments. .
The tournament will be marked this year by the participation of former winners such as the Scot Colin Montgomerie (1997) and the Spaniard Santiago Luna, tournament record holder with three victories (1998, 2002 and 2003).
The Canadian Stephen Ames, defending champion, the American Tom Lehman, former world No. 1, as well as the Spaniards Miguel Angel Gimenez and José Maria Olazabal will also take part in this prestigious international golf event.
The Hassan II Trophy events will be preceded by a Pro-Am, bringing together professional players and amateur players, on February 20 and 21 on the Red Course. The Lalla Meryem Cup, which will see the participation this year of 108 golfers, will also be preceded by a Pro-Am on the Blue Course.
Since its creation in 1971, the Hassan II Golf Trophy has counted the participation of true legends of this discipline, including Gary Player, Severiano Ballesteros, Billy Casper, Lee Trevino, Payne Stewart, Nick Price, Sam Torrance, Padraig Harington, Ernie Els, John Daly, Jose Maria Olazabal, Alexander Levy, Danny Willet, Thomas Petters and Francesco Molinari.
As for the Lalla Meryem Cup, which has attracted the best golfers worldwide since its creation in 1993, this year it will once again bring together the European elite of women’s golf.
Among the 108 participants, 5 Moroccan golfers are expected including Ines Laklalech, winner of the Lacoste Ladies Open de France 2022, Maha Haddioui, a resident of LET for 11 years and the sensation of the previous edition, Sofia Cherif Essakali who, at the height of 13 years old, had passed the cut, which constitutes a record for precocity.
This edition will also be marked by the participation of the Spaniard Nuria Iturrioz crowned in 2016 and 2019, the Taiwanese Trichat Cheenglab, ranked n°1 on the Ladies European Tour (LET) in 2023 and the Swede Johanna Gustavsson titled at the Lacoste Ladies Open.
The two tournaments benefit from a television broadcast each year which reaches more than 650 million households on five continents.
Alongside the two competitions, a mixed exhibition tournament will be held this Tuesday at hole n°9 of the Red Course of the Royal Golf Dar Es Salam. The program also includes “the Clinic Exhibition Lacoste” which will be organized at the Parcours Rouge.
As usual, the juniors are also in the spotlight during the “Pro-am Hassan II Kids Cup by First Tee”. Teams made up of professional players from the PGA Tour Champions and the Ladies European Tour and young golfers from the national “First Tee Morocco” program will compete on Wednesday in a fun and informative atmosphere. There are 9 teams made up of two children and a professional who will challenge each other over 9 holes on the green course according to the Scramble game formula.
The competitions will end on Saturday with the presentation of prizes to the winners of the 48th edition of the Hassan II Trophy and the 27th edition of the Lalla Meryem Cup.
Note that Morocco remains to this day the only country to organize, in the same city, on the same dates and at the same location, a men’s and another women’s event included in the European golf calendars.
2024-04-14 19:38:04