La Manga Club had the enviable privilege of being associated with Severiano Ballesteros at the peak of his glorious career, and Spain's flagship resort will pay further homage to the golfing legend by hosting a qualifying event for the 2017 Seve Ballesteros Foundation Challenge charity golf tournament.

Taking place on Saturday June 3, the qualifier is expected to attract a bumper field when it is played on the Murcian resort's popular North Course in aid of the charity named after the star, who lost his battle against brain cancer in 2011 and would have celebrated his 60th birthday earlier this month.

This year will be the fifth time that La Manga Club has staged a Seve Ballesteros Foundation Challenge event, with the pairs competition at the resort one of 25 that will be held at clubs around the country from now until September.

The winners from each qualifier will then gather at Pedreña Golf Club in northern Spain to compete in the national final on October 28, with the winning duo going forward to play in the 2018 EurAsia Cup Pro-Am in Malaysia next year.

Ballesteros made his European Tour debut as a 17-year-old at La Manga Club in the 1974 Spanish Open – one of five successive years the resort held the prestigious tournament.

The European Tour legend was the resort's touring professional from 1980-85, when he won three of his five Major titles, while La Manga Club honoured Ballesteros – who also owned a house at the resort – last year by exclusively dedicating a corner of its refurbished and rebranded 37 Spike & Sports Bar to his memory and achievements.

The Seve Ballesteros Foundation has been working in close collaboration with the Spanish National Oncologic Centre since 2011 and has so far raised hundreds of thousands of pounds for brain cancer research.

Javier Ballesteros, president of the Seve Ballesteros Foundation: "My brothers and I want to thank everyone for the support that the Foundation receives from entities, sponsors and many friends. We are very excited to continue with the work that my father began."

Set across an area of 1,400 acres, La Manga Club has been at the forefront of European sports and leisure destinations since its inception in 1972.

Featuring three 18-hole golf courses, a nine-hole academy course and outstanding practice facilities, the resort has enjoyed a rich golfing history over the last four decades. Golfing legends Gary Player and Arnold Palmer also figure prominently in its past, while its array of other outstanding sports and leisure amenities, bars and restaurants has helped establish it as a firm favourite with golfers worldwide.

La Manga Club has won numerous leading international awards including, most recently, being voted 'Spain's Best Golf Resort' by readers of the UK magazine Today's Golfer for the last six years in a row and being selected to receive an'Editors' Choice Award for Best International Resorts 2017' in Golf Digest's annual list of the 'Best Things in Golf'.

The official overseas training base of the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA), the venue's unrivalled facilities as a sports and leisure destination also include a 28-court tennis centre and a 2,000sqm spa and fitness centre. In addition, it also features the choice of a five-star hotel, four-star serviced apartments and townhouses and more than 20 bars and restaurants.

For more details on La Manga Club, visit www.lamangaclub.com 

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Information for journalists

Press release written and distributed on behalf of La Manga Club by the Azalea Group.

La Manga Club
La Manga Club – www.lamangaclub.com – is an unrivalled sports and leisure paradise which sits between the low hills that separate the Mediterranean from the Mar Menor Sea, just 20 minutes from Murcia airport and an hour from Alicante.

Set out over an area of some 560 hectares (approx. 1,400 acres), it enjoys a mild year-round Mediterranean climate and offers visitors a prestigious five-star hotel, luxury vacation apartments and extensive sports facilities, including three 18-hole golf courses, extensive practice facilities, a 28-court tennis centre and eight grass sports pitches. The resort is also home to innumerable leisure facilities, such as the 2,000m2 Spa La Manga Club with its 13 luxurious treatment rooms, comprehensive fitness centre and 25m indoor swimming pool; meeting, banqueting and incentive facilities, and more than 20 restaurants and bars.

As well as hosting both Davis and Fed Cup tennis matches, La Manga Club has signed a long-term deal to be the overseas training resort of the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) until 2019. It has also staged the Spanish Open golf championship and regularly attracts professional and international football teams to the first-class year-round training facilities which are also used by rugby and cricket sides.

As a result of more than four decades of continued investment, innovation and commitment to excellence, La Manga Club is widely recognised as Spain's flagship resort and as one of the finest sports and lifestyle destinations in the world. Evidence of this is provided by its numerous awards and accolades.

La Manga Club was the proud recipient of a 2013 Certificate of Excellence from TripAdvisor, the world's largest travel website, for the facilities and service on offer at its five-star Hotel Principe Felipe. The resort has been voted 'Best Golf Hotel/Resort in Spain' by UK readers of Today's Golfer magazine for the last six years, was included among Golf Digest magazine's list of the 'Editors' Choice Award for Best International Resorts 2017' and was named 'Best Golf Hotel in Spain' at the 2014 and 2015 World Golf Awards. La Manga Club has long been a staunch supporter of women's golf, being the official overseas resort partner of the English Women's Golf Association for three years as well as hosting the Ladies European Tour (LET) Qualifying School from 2009-12.

• High-resolution images of La Manga Club may be downloaded for editorial purposes from https://goo.gl/oi837y 

For more information on La Manga Club contact Pete Simm on 01730 711920 or email petes@theazaleagroup.com