Carlota Ciganda, who is making her professional debut

The draw for the Tenerife Ladies Match Play at Golf Las Américas, from June 10-12, was announced on Thursday, after 32 of Europe’s best players were seeded according to their Strokeplay score in the Pro-Am.

Top seed Karen Lunn leads the field for the new format and will take on Zuzana Kamasova in the first of 16 matches out at 9am on Friday.

The second seeded player, Lee-Anne Pace, will take on Bettina Hauert in the last match at 11.08am.

Friday’s winners will progress to Saturday’s knockout and will then strive to make the last eight, who will play a final round of Strokeplay to decide the top classifications on Sunday.

American Hannah Jun will be up against Laura Davies, who had her eighth hole in one at the 13th in the Pro Am and the 79-time tournament champion said: “I do like matchplay. It’s horrible if you beat someone or you get beaten because you can have a really good round and be knocked out. You always feel bad if you beat someone but on the other hand you want to win. It’s completely different but I wouldn’t want to do it every week.”

Laura Davies with a bottle of champagne awarded for her hole in one in the Pro Am

The Englishwoman, who earned five titles in 2010 to finish second on the LET’s Henderson Money List, added:  “You hope possibly reputation might get you a couple of shots but after that, you settle down and it’s just who plays best on the day, really. You can try and intimidate with reputation but it doesn’t really work. Sometimes it goes against you because it fires someone up.”

England’s Trish Johnson, who won last year’s 72-hole strokeplay tournament at Buenavista Golf Club, will be up against Australian rookie Stacey Keating.

Another Englishwoman, Felicity Johnson, will be hoping to emulate her success from 2009 when she won in Tenerife as she goes up against Scot Krystle Caithness.

The 2008 Tenerife Ladies Open champion, Rebecca Hudson, will play fellow Yorkshire woman Georgina Simpson, while the 2007 event winner Nikki Garrett takes on Virginie Lagoutte-Clement.

Solheim Cup player Becky Brewerton of Wales has been pitted against Australian Kristie Smith, the Pegasus New Zealand Open champion, with the Portugal Open champion, Ashleigh Simon going up against Frances Bondad.

Local player Emma Cabrera-Bello, from Gran Canaria, will take on American Beth Allen and Spanish Solheim Cup player Tania Elosegui faces Kiran Matharu.

The seeded draw means that Carlota Ciganda, playing in her first event as a professional on home soil, clashes with fellow Spaniard and great friend Paula Martí, playing her comeback tournament after the arrival of her second son, Jan, in November.

Ciganda, 21, who was Spain’s most decorated amateur golfer, said: “I think it’s nice to play with her, because she is a great player and I’m going to learn a lot from her. On the other side I think it’s a little bit sad that we are playing against each other because we are friends and I love her. I mean, she is really nice and she has helped me a lot. She is a great player.

“I would prefer to play against another European player, not Spanish, but you don’t know. It’s unlucky that I’m playing against her but I will play my best and she will play her best and the best is going to win.”

Martí, the European No.1 in 2002, added: “I love Carlota. She’s a great girl, she’s a great golfer and obviously it’s a totally different generation. She is like 10 years younger than me, but I think she’s the future of Spain. I think it will be great to see her on the golf course and in matchplay, you never know. She has a lot of respect towards me, maybe that’s pressure that she is going to put on herself and me, I have the pressure that I have to beat the young one.”

In the other matches, Kylie Walker will be up against Danielle Montgomery, Morgana Robbertze plays Kim Welch, Rebecca Codd faces Lydia Hall and Jenni Kuosa plays Stacey Keating.

The prize fund is €120,000 with a first prize of €40,000 and €20,000 for the runner-up. Besides Turismo deTenerife as the main sponsor, the Gobierno de Canarias, Real Federación Española de Golf and Federación Canaria de Golf are contributing.  

Organised and promoted by Deporte & Business, the Tenerife Match Play is also supported by Callaway, Cicar, DISA, Hospiten, Kyocera, Mercedes-Benz, Nautical and Canary Sports, Poodle and Tenerife Magazine, as well as by suppliers Appletiser, Bahlsen, Coca-Cola, Fonteide, Grafitigolf, Heineken, Hotel Tropical Garden, Arona Great Hotel, Movistar, Overseas Events and Mare Nostrum Resort.