The best Spanish golfer should become a football player. Carlota Ciganda grew up around football. His uncle José Ángel, el Cuco (Ziganda, with Z), played eleven seasons in the elite between Athletic and Osasuna. His father Jesús worked as a football player and coach in amateur teams. His brother and one of his cousins tried their luck in Second B and Third. And she showed her skills with the ball. Young Carlota was the best in a boys’ team, she conceded fouls and corners and gave the ball 150 touches in a row. “She was a good striker,” he remembers.
In this childhood full of sports, Ciganda expressed his competitiveness in everything he practiced. Football shared the attention with paddle tennis, skiing, racquetball and golf. And it was this discipline that won the competition. Growing up in the Ulzama Valley, 20 kilometers from Pamplona, where she was born 33 years ago, Carlota began playing with clubs in the area. Football continued his passion for sports. From the gable, speed and arm strength. As a golfer, she has established herself as a great Spanish reference and heroine of the Solheim Cup, which Europe won against the USA this Sunday at the Finca Cortesín golf course (Málaga). When the big duel was held in Spain for the first time, it was the only Spaniard in the European squad who made the decisive putt.
More information
“I will never be able to forget that in my life,” said Ciganda. With a tie on the scoreboard, the continental captain, the Norwegian Suzann Pettersen, her idol, turned to the Navarrese on the 16th hole: “It’s your time. You stand in front of all of Spain, in front of your country. Do it for them and get it done.” And he did it. First with a second shot on that hole to close the birdie, and then with a shot to the flag on the par three 17th to kill Nelly Korda and allow Europe to keep the Solheim in a tie at 14. Carlota wanted a high-profile rival. In that crash, fate crossed her path with the world number three, winner of a major and Olympic gold in Tokyo. It was the kind of challenge the Spaniard needed to be her best at golf, a mix of passion and wisdom, the perfect maturity in her sixth Solheim. Since his debut in Colorado in 2013, in the first European victory on North American territory, 13 points have been achieved in 23 games played and four crowns in six editions.
European golf capitulated at his feet. “It’s pure energy. She is without a doubt a leader. She has always been in the amateur teams and since playing Solheim she is very passionate. He has a brutal game. Intimidate. It doesn’t shrink with anything. You can face any situation that can overwhelm you. I compare her to Rafa Nadal,” says Marta Figueras-Dotti, pioneer of Spanish golf and current president of the European Women’s Tour (LET). Azahara Muñoz, the other great Spanish figure and Ciganda’s partner in team tournaments since amateurs, analyzes: “At Solheim she goes crazy, but as a person she is very calm, she does everything with a lot of patience. She doesn’t talk much, but she’s very funny. And as a player, she has won everything since she was a child. She never gives up, she is super positive. If he has a bad day, he accepts it and the next day he can play very well. There is no martyrdom. She handles herself very well. This is very important as an athlete. It’s the best thing he has, what he loves and how he trusts her… To be honest, I was a little afraid that the deciding point would be with him, and in Spain at that. I can’t imagine the pressure he must have been under, but he hit some spectacular shots, he couldn’t have done better. This will be very good for you.”
With this, Carlota closed the circle after becoming Spanish champion in all training categories, from junior to absolute, a record that included six victories on the European tour and two on the American tour in 2016, and to the top in the big one was waiting. “That’s what I’m missing,” says Ciganda, now 28th in the world and the only Spaniard in the top 100 of the rankings; “I feel prepared and have the game I need. I have to trust myself to take this step.” So far, she has accumulated 10 finishes in the top 10 of a major, including four third-place finishes, the last this year at the Women’s PGA Championship (at the Evian she was disqualified because she had her card had intentionally signed incorrectly when she disagreed with a penalty (slow game).
The success of this Solheim now strengthens his belief that this step is about to be taken. It would be the culmination of a path that led her to win the Order of Merit as the best player of the year in her professional debut in 2012, after solidifying herself at the University of Arizona, and that made her the first Spanish player in 2019 made history the top ten in the world. “What sets her apart the most is her professionalism and competitiveness when playing golf. Although he has a lot of experience, one of his greatest virtues is that he wants to develop and improve every day. She finds it very easy to settle in, thinks that she already has everything, and she always wants to learn, she is open to new things. This is a very important part of their game,” explains their caddy, Álvaro Alonso, in his second year with the Navarrese. “Carlota is already a legend after this Solheim. But he will continue to work to get better and achieve more,” he added.
Carlota Ciganda and Pau Gasol, at Finca Cortesín.A.Carrasco Ragel (EFE)
An heir to the spirit that Seve Ballesteros spread across Europe, Ciganda was the best glue in the dressing room when other figures sharpened their egos. The Spaniard remained silent as the captain left her out of the first round on Friday, speaking on the course with four points out of four possible, without ever being behind on the scoreboard and not once reaching the 18th hole. Their call is “Come on, girls!” who encourages the team. There is no one like her to symbolize the passion for a tournament where players don’t earn a single euro. It’s paid for with fame.
All results of the Solheim Cup 2023.
You can follow EL PAÍS Deportes on Facebook and Xor sign up here to receive our weekly newsletter.
Subscribe to continue reading
Read without limits