Europe’s Ryder Cup captain Darren Clarke will host the spectacular Costa Smeralda Invitational at Pevero Golf Club on Saturday, June 25. The Pevero Golf Club is a par 72, 18 hole, 6717-yard golf course. It was designed by Robert Trent Jones Snr in 1972. He built Pevero Golf Club for the Aga Khan (Prince Karim Al Husseini).
Pevero Golf Club today belongs to Qatar Holding and together with the luxury Hotels: Cala di Volpe, Romazzino, Pitrizza and Hotel Cervo, forms the Costa Smeralda brand. The Qatar Holding acquired in 2013 the Smeralda Holding and its 4 hotels for US$1.35 billion. By the way, Sardinia is attracting investors mainly from the UK, Russia, and Scandinavian countries.
The Invitational, staged for the first time last year when it was hosted by Justin Rose, will see 18 star names lead teams of VVIPs and business leaders. Darren Clarke will present the celebrity champion with the coveted Blue Jacket, won last year by Kapil Dev.
Tournament Director Jamie Cunningham said: “With Italy having won the right to host the 2022 Ryder Cup, it is fitting to have a Ryder Cup great and this year’s European captain as our host.”
There will be a welcome dinner the day before the competition and a gala dinner following the tournament. During the competition, there will be alternative fun and games on all the holes to entertain our guests. An exclusive partner’s program, including spa treatments and winery tour, is also on offer.
The most important part of the weekend is raising money for charity. The event raised over £100,000 for the children’s charities Autism Rocks and UNICEF Road to Awareness last year.
Meanwhile, this tournament the Costa Smeralda Invitational highlights very well, how much Italy and particularly Sardinia needs to focus on international golf tourism as they cannot rely on national demand. Italy is also the country with the lowest average number of golf courses per resort (source: KPMG: Golf Resorts in the European Mediterranian Region).
Sardinia today has 9 golf clubs. However, only 3 of them have at least 18-hole golf course (Molas Golf Club: 27-holes, Yellow Course was designed by Gary Player Design; Arenas Golf & Country Club: 18-hole; Tanka Golf Club: 18-hole).