With Markus Brier and Miguel Angel Jiménez as the Team Captains, Spain won the inaugural Miguel Angel Junior Match Play played from 2nd-4th March 2018 at the Hotel Meliá Villaitana, Benidorm, near Alicante, Spain, after scoring 14 points against the 10 achieved by their Austrian rivals.
The Spanish team was comprised of the twelve best players of the regular season of the Miguel Ángel Jiménez Circuit that was played in 2017 throughout Spain, facing a team of the best Under-18 players from Austria.
The Malaga champion Miguel Ángel Jiménez was the captain of the Spanish team while Markus Brier, the first Austrian in history to win a European Tournament, was in charge of leading the opposing team.
Throughout three days (one of practice and two of official competition) the players played the competition in a format identical to the one played in the Ryder Cup - fourballs, foursome and individual. After the first matches on Saturday morning, the competition ended in a draw (3-3 points), Spain reached a slight advantage after the foursomes that afternoon (6 ½-5 1/2 points) and followed up with victory in the individual stages.
It was a unique experience in their lives of all 24 children with each one of the participants receiving a complete uniform as well as a very special gift of a limited edition of an exclusive custom-made belt from Elliot Rhodes in the UK, made specially for each of the competitors.
The tournament was organized by the Lowgolf company as well as the Miguel Ángel Jiménez Circuit whose 2018 edition is already underway. The best players of the year will compete in 2019 in another new edition of the Miguel Angel Jimenez Junior Match Play, to be held in Austria.
The 12 winners of the Spanish team were: José María Rozas, Pablo Ereño, Dani Castrillo, Dani Robles, Elisa Orduna, Ana García, Rebeca Andrés, Paula Álvarez, Alejandro Grau, Alberto de los Ríos, Gonzalo Moreno and Gerardo March.