The Road to Mallorca is back in action this week with the Open de Portugal at Royal Óbidos. Here is this week’s tournament guide:
Tournament History
The inaugural edition of the Open de Portugal was played in 1953, and it became part of the DP World Tour schedule from 1973 to 2010 with Colin Montgomerie, Sam Torrance and Thomas Bjørn amongst the winners. In 2017 the event returned as a dual-ranking event on both the DP World Tour and the European Challenge Tour as Englishman Matt Wallace claimed his maiden title. Since 2017 the event remained on solely the Challenge Tour schedule, however in 2020 it returned as a dual-ranking event due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Royal Óbidos
Royal Óbidos Spa and Golf Resort hosts the event for the third time in a row. Located one hour north of Lisbon, the course was designed by the legendary Seve Ballesteros. 19-under par was the winning score in both 2020 and 2021.
Past Winners
The event has a strong history of past winners going on to further success on the DP World Tour. Wallace went on to win three times on the top tier in 2018, including victory at the BMW International Open. 2019 winner Adrian Meronk became the first Pole to win on the DP World tour at this year’s Horizon Irish Open, while 2020 winner Garrick Higgo has since claimed two DP World Tour titles.
Road to Mallorca
With five events to go before the Rolex Challenge Tour Grand Final supported by The R&A, the Open de Portugal at Royal Óbidos offers a great opportunity for players to break into the top 20 on the Road to Mallorca Rankings. Germany’s Alexander Knappe currently leads the Rankings on 126, 237 points, while countryman Freddy Schott sits in second.
