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ROSE PREDICTS BRIGHT FUTURE FOR QUINTA DO LAGO
Justin Rose believes Quinta do Lago can play a leading role in helping to develop golf ’s new generation of stars following a visit to the top Algarve resort.
The former world number one was on hand to give a personal welcome to the finalists at the Justin Rose Telegraph Junior Golf Championship – the first year that he has sponsored the tournament regarded as junior golf ’s unofficial Major.
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Quinta do Lago has hosted the event five times in the last six years and Rose was impressed by the resort’s combination of world-class golf and lifestyle facilities that have made it a firm favourite with golfers and families across Europe.
As well as three 18-hole championship golf courses – the North, South and Laranjal – and outstanding practice facilities, guests can stay in shape at the state-of-the-art performance centre The Campus, a world-class sports hub designed for professionals and amateurs alike to keep fit. “I think Quinta do Lago hosting this championship is the perfect venue, the whole resort is very family-focused and family-friendly,” said Rose, the 2013 US Open champion. “I think it’s also a real destination to come and do activities whether it’ll be golf, fitness, tennis, padel tennis or many other things. No matter what your interests are, there is something for everybody here, so with the resort hosting this championship, many people will identify this as a real destination to come and enjoy time as a family.”
Quinta do Lago’s acclaimed North Course once again provided the setting for the tournament, with Brabazon Trophy champion Ben Schmidt winning the boys’ event and fellow England international Mimi Rhodes lifting the girls’ title, and Rose reckons that the designed layout is the ideal test for golf ’s stars of the future. He said: “Quinta do Lago and certainly the North QUINTA DO LAGO Course is such a great venue for these kids. “It’s generally always beautiful weather here, you can see the golf courses in perfect conditions, with lovely tree lines, you know, and the North Course has nice bunkering. (It’s) just a really pleasant golf course to play and a lot of fun.” Rose used victory at the tournament in 1997 as the platform to go on and enjoy worldwide golfing success, and he revealed that this was the primary motivating factor in his decision to take on headline sponsorship of the event this year.
He added: “I just wanted to get involved with the championship because I have wonderful memories and I think it was a very formative part of my career. Winning the Daily Telegraph Junior Championship gave me a lot of confidence but also gave me the ability to play in front of TV cameras. “By sponsoring it myself, for it to be the Justin Rose Telegraph Junior Championship I feel that hopefully, it resonates with kids.
If there was a corporate sponsor, kids don’t really resonate with corporate sponsors, they resonate with a tour player or a professional golfer. “Hopefully, it will entice more children to enter the competition. We want to inspire them to follow their dreams if they do want to go on and become a professional golfer.” The Justin Rose Telegraph Junior Golf Championship, which is supported by the R&A, European Tour Foundation and England Golf, is open to any juniors aged under-18, with this year's finals being televised by Sky Sports. Located just 15 minutes away from Faro airport, Quinta do Lago is renowned among Europe’s elite golf, sports and family destinations and, with a combination of world-class golf and lifestyle facilities, is the perfect choice for a sporting break. Complementing Quinta do Lago’s golf facilities is a choice of 13 first-class bars and restaurants that deliver a range of delicious world cuisines – including the acclaimed Bovino Steakhouse and recently-opened Dano’s Sports Bar & Restaurant – with accommodation on offer at the resort’s recently-acquired boutique The Magnolia Hotel.
