Spain: Stiges & Barcelona

Location: Sitges & Barcelona

Course: Club de Golf Terramar

Estrella Damm Mediterranean Ladies Open

Second stop on the tour for me was Sitges, Spain for the Inaugural Estrella Damm Mediterranean Ladies Open. This was an incredible event and extra memorable for me because it was my first time in not only Spain, but Europe all together! (My two previous European Tour tournament experiences took place in Morocco). The course, Club Terrmar, was located right along the beach and was stunning! The course was in great condition and very scorable, but the gusty shore winds made things a bit more challenging.

The course suited me very well with several reachable par 5's and a number of wedges for approach shots, but my less than satisfactory opening and closing rounds left me finishing at T53 for the tournament (click here for the full leaderboard). I shot an opening round of 3 over 75, which left me outside the cut by 1. In order to play over the weekend I knew I had to make something happen--and that's what I did, shooting a 4 under 68. I worked my way back up the leaderboard on moving day, firing another 68, but only one birdie and a couple wayward drives on Sunday left me shooting a closing round of 75. It was tough to finish out the tournament this way, but it left me with a lot of great things to reflect and work on when I returned home! I learned that I can compete with the best and I'm moving in a great direction.

Me and Victor, a local kid from the club who caddied for me! — Me and Victor, a local kid from the club who caddied for me!

Sitges

The tournament was hosted in the beautiful little beach town of Sitges, about 30km outside Barcelona. If you go to Spain I highly recommend taking a day or weekend trip here. This coastal town has a wonderful seafront promenade and an awesome town with small surrounding streets filled with food, shops, and bars. It was awesome to get to play a tournament in such a cool city!

Barcelona

After the tournament I was lucky enough to spend a couple extra days exploring Barcelona! Barcelona is an amazing city filled with history, art, and architecture. Within the two days I had walked over 30 miles wandering the city streets and visiting historic sites. One of my favorite areas and sites to see was the Gothic Quarter. It is really unique, rich in history, and there are endless shops. I also found a free walking tour where a guide took us around the quarter and gave us an historical overview! On the tour, I met an awesome Brazilian guy named Fredrick. He was traveling alone as well, so we ended up seeing Barcelona together the next couple days! It was awesome to have company and share the experiences with someone else. I'm looking forward to one day, hopefully in the near future of going to Brazil and reconnecting with my buddy Fredrick in Sao Paulo!

Barcelona is filled with beautiful architecture and famous landmarks. In my short stay I was able to see: Placa Espanya, Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya, Arc de Triomf, Las Rambas, Plaza de Cataluna, La Sagrada Familia, Gothic Quarter, Parc de la Ciutadella, and Parc de Montjuic.