Today (Thursday) marks the start of the Portugal Open golfing competition, which will take place until Sunday at the Morgado Golf Resort in Portimão.
A record number of 18 Portuguese golfers are taking part, with Filipe Lima and Ricardo Santos among the favourites to win. However, they will be facing the tough opposition of big names such as Frenchman Grégory Havret and UK’s Ben Stow.
As the European Tour website points out: “A winner already this season, Portugal’s Lima is currently in possession of a top 15 spot on the Road to Mallorca and it is not something he will be too keen to relinquish. A final round 66 earned him his fifth Challenge Tour title at the Vierumäki Finnish Challenge – his first victory in three years – and he is now geared up for a late-season fight for a return to the European Tour.”
While Filipe Lima may be the frontrunner among the Portuguese squad of golfers, “an additional effort” was made this year by organisers to give other national golfers a chance to shine, said PGA Portugal President José Correia.
The list of remaining participating Portuguese golfers includes amateurs Daniel da Costa Rodrigues and Pedro Silva as well as professional golfers Tomás Silva, Tomás Bessa, Tomás Melo Gouveia, Tiago Rodrigues, João Ramos, Tiago Cruz, Miguel Gaspar, Vítor Lopes, João Carlota, Alexandre Abreu, João Magalhães, Hugo Santos, Francisco Oliveira and Nathan Brader.
The European Tour website explains that this week’s tournament in Portugal “marks the beginning of an important four-event stretch which will determine who will earn a spot in the co-sanctioned Hainan Open and Foshan Open – where the field is split between the Challenge Tour and the China Tour – and subsequently the Challenge Tour Grand Final, where the top 45 players will battle it out for a European Tour card.”
More information about the event can be found online at https://opendeportugal.com/
Photo by: Filipe Guerra
