HAVANA, Cuba -- Following the great success of the 2009 tournament, the Second Annual Montecristo Cup and Esencia Cup for 2010 will take place April 23rd and 24th, 2010 at the Varadero Golf Club in Varadero, Cuba. The exciting two-day event will include:
Friday April 23rd:
• The Montecristo Cup event - a Pro-Am competition
Saturday April 24th:
• The Esencia Cup event - a Team-play Competition
• Spanish golfer Alvaro Quiros is scheduled to appear at both events and play an exhibition match against another world class golfer
• Closing event - a Saturday evening gala prize giving dinner at the DuPont family Mansion, Xanadu
The event is being hosted by the Varadero Golf Club and Palmares SA in association with Esencia Hotels and Resorts. The Montecristo Cup is being sponsored by Habanos, the purveyors of the world´s finest cigars. Additional information and regular updates are available at http://www.themontecristocup.com
British golfer Tony Jacklin, winner of The Open and the US Open, says: "Cuba is an ideal location for golf tournaments and has a bright future with regards to courses. The Montecristo Cup and Esencia Cup tournaments lead the way, offering a challenging and enjoyable game… plus where else can you light up a cigar and strike the ball!"
HIGHLIGHTS FROM 2009
Guest of honour, Ernie Els, a three-time major championship winner and former No.1 World Golfer, said "I look forward to coming back and seeing much more Cuban golf."
Sandino Fernandez, the representative of Palmares, said: "It was an exciting tournament and the first of many."
The event was a truly international competition, with golfers representing many countries including the UK, Canada, Spain, Andorra, Korea, Vietnam, Japan and China as well as Cuba.
The event was covered by publications such as Golf Monthly, GolfPunk, as well as the networks CNN, NBC and BBC among others.
"We look forward to sponsoring the second Montecristo Cup in 2010 after such a great success in May 2009," said Ana Lopez, Director of Marketing for Habanos.
Andrew Macdonald of Boisdale, CEO of Esencia Hotels & Resorts, said, "As a British company from the original home of golf, we are excited to work with Palmares in the development of golf in Cuba. The tournament is a great launch of a new era for the game in Cuba."
DETAILS OF 2010 EVENT
The Second Montecristo Cup will be held on Friday, April 23rd, 2010 at the Varadero Golf Club. Limited to 72 competitors, the 18-hole tournament will be open to both amateur and professional golfers with a handicap under 28 who come to test their skills on the beachfront golf course and the winner will receive the opulent Montecristo Cup as well as prizes from the sponsors.
Day 2 of the tournament - Saturday 24th April - will feature The Esencia Cup 2010. A team-play competition, the event will have no handicap limit and will be played by a maximum of 18 teams, each with 4 players.
The awards dinner will take place following the competition on Saturday April 24th at the Xanadu Mansion, which was built in 1930 and was once the luxurious residence of the Dupont family, and is within the grounds of the Golf Club. Guests, who will include international golf professionals as well as Cuban officials, can look forward to enjoying the Habanos cigars from The Montecristo Open range.
For more information, to register for The Montecristo Cup and The Esencia Cup 2010 and to see the images of the 2009 event please visit: www.themontecristocup.com
For information about travel arrangements and hotel rates please contact Floridita Travel by visiting
www.floriditatravel.com or call The Montecristo Hotline: +44 20 7148 5591.
About the Varadero Golf Club & Xanadu Mansion
With a design that meets the highest international standards, the Varadero Golf Club has presently the only professional, 18-hole par golf course in Cuba. It is a par-72 course running 6,856 yards (6,269 meters) and features several salt water lakes that connect directly with the sea, a rare feature in golf course design. This is the first and (currently) only 18-hole Cuban golf course, designed by Canadian golf architect Les Furber (President of the Canadian company Golf Design Services Ltd. and also once an associate with Robert Trent Jones), which offers luxurious surroundings and an entertaining round of golf, both for beginners and experts. The course opened in 1998 and hosted two European Challenge Tour Grand Finals in 1999 and 2000. It is challenging yet extremely fair with wide fairways and few hidden hazards. The signature hole is the par-5 18th, which runs along the ocean with an elevated green protected by bunkers and with the wind sweeping in from the north. The course offers practice facilities with a driving range, two putting greens, a chipping green, and two practice bunkers. Club rentals are available as well as a Golf Academy.
The course runs from the San Bernardino Hill, the highest point at Varadero beach, all the way down. On the hilltop is the clubhouse - the monumental Xanadu Mansion, former residence of multi millionaire Irenée Dupont de Nemours which has been refurbished strictly respecting its original construction in 1930. Upstairs is the Casa Blanca Panoramic Bar featuring cocktails and live music and a great view of the beach. The mansion has six guestrooms, each with private balconies, featuring 1920's classical furniture. Pure air, lush vegetation and peacefulness characterize the green and blue environment of the Varadero Golf Club, the grounds on which the Mansion Xanadu is set.
Varadero is Cuba's primary tourist destination, 120 kilometres (75 miles) from downtown Havana with a series of all-inclusive hotels stretching along the beachfront of the peninsula. The Varadero Golf Club caters almost exclusively to the hotels located along a 3.5 km resort strip along Varadero Beach. For more information visit www.varaderogolfclub.com
SPONSORSHIP
The main sponsors of The Montecristo Cup & The Esencia Cup are Habanos SA, the world's leading premium cigar company and purveyor of the famous Montecristo brand and Esencia Hotels and Resorts, one of the supporters and developers of golf in Cuba. The event is hosted by Palmares, a Cuban organization supervised by the Ministry of Tourism.
Further sponsorship is available to companies by appointment. For full sponsorship details, please contact christopher@esenciahotelsandresorts.com
Palmares S.A.
Palmares is a Cuban organization supervised by the Ministry of Tourism. Palmares has developed over 1,000 projects throughout Cuba, including the Cabaret Tropicana, La Bodeguita del Medio, El Floridita and the Varadero Golf Course.
Habanos S.A.
Habanos is responsible for the manufacturing, promotion, distribution, and export of Cuban cigars and other tobacco products worldwide. The word habanos means literally 'something from Havana' and is the word used in the Spanish-speaking world for Havana cigars and, sometimes, cigars in general. Habanos S.A. owns the trademarks of every brand of Cuban-made cigars and cigarettes.
Esencia Hotels & Resorts, associated with Havana Holdings Group
Esencia Hotels & Resorts is a British company dedicated to the development of golf resorts and boutique hotels in Cuba. The company embraces mainly well known British brands such as Conran, PGADC, Savills and Camper & Nicholson.
Media contacts:
For North American press enquiries or to receive images please contact Dalia Blumenthal: Tel +1 416 926 1967 Mobile + 1 416 788 4573 Email. dalia@dbprinternational.com
For all other press enquiries, please contact Johnny Considine: Tel +34 914262053 Mobile + 44 7793451652 Email. Johnny@esenciahotelsandresorts.com
