With its prize fund counting on both The European Tour and the Challenge Tour, the Madeira Islands Open – Portugal – BPI provides a platform for some of golf's up and coming stars to shine. With that in mind, here's a handful of players for yourFantasy Race To Dubaiconsideration at Clube de Golf do Santo da Serra.
Renato Paratore
After breaking onto The European Tour scene with a number of impressive rounds earlier this season, 18 year old rookie Renato Paratore’s refreshing fast-paced game and aggressive approach have already won him a number of new fans. Having won his first event at the Italian PGA Championship just days after gaining his card at the Qualifying School in Spain, and within weeks of turning pro, Paratore will be keen to now make his mark on The European Tour. Incidentally, the tall Italian will have good memories of golf in this part of the world having won the Portugal Amateur Championship last year.
Justin Walters
Having collected three top 25 finishes in the last three weeks, Justin Walters arrives in Madeira full of confidence. Like Paratore, Walters has fond memories of golf in Portugal. In his last visit to the country, at the 2013 Portugal Masters, the South African holed a 40-foot putt on the 72nd hole to secure a solo second in what was an emotional week after losing his mother two weeks earlier.
Joachim B Hansen
This week’s prize money counts on The European Tour and the Challenge Tour and JB Hansen will be hoping that his history on the second tier of European golf might prove inspirational. The 24 year old had four runner up finishes on the Challenge Tour before earning his European Tour card in 2012 and again at Qualifying School last year. His best week on Tour came at the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open in 2013, where he finished in a tie for third. In similarly windy conditions on the picturesque Portuguese island, Hansen will be hoping to keep his flat stick warm as he looks for his first professional stroke play win. The Dane currently leads The European Tour in Putts per GIR and is second in Putts per Round.
Ricardo Santos
Sure to have the local support this week is Ricardo Santos. The 32 year old home favourite returns to the site of his victory in 2012, when he became the first Portuguese player to win a European Tour event on home soil. This will be his tenth appearance at the Madeira Islands Open having placed inside the top 20 three times in the last four years. In terms of recent form, Santos opened 66-68 at the Tshwane Open and featured in the top ten before falling back over the weekend.
Joakim Lagergren
Madeira has been a happy hunting ground for Swedish players, who have recorded five victories in the event (Mars Lanner 1994 and 1998, Jarmo Sandelin 1996, Niclas Fasth 2000 and Christopher Hanell 2004. Only the Nordea Masters, with six wins, has witnessed more Swedish victories in the same European Tour tournament. One Swede with potential this week is Lagergren, who won on the Challenge Tour last year and came close to his first European Tour triumph at the Hero Indian Open. A par five on the final hole saw him miss out on a play-off by one shot. He followed that up with a solid, top 15 finish at the Africa Open two weeks later. As for this event, the 23 year old has finished in the top 30 here in two of his last three visits including a fourth place finish in 2012.
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