Charismatic Spaniards Miguel Angel Jiménez and José Maria Olazábal are the latest stars to confirm their participation in next month’s Portugal Masters at the Oceânico Victoria Golf Course.
The pair join a stellar field which boasts reigning European Number One Martin Kaymer of Germany, Italian brothers Edoardo and Francesco Molinari, American John Daly, Scotland’s Colin Montgomerie and fellow Spaniard Alvaro Quiros, the 2008 Portugal Masters champion.
The presence of Olazábal, the 2012 European Ryder Cup Captain who will make his debut in the €2.5 million event, and Jiménez, a three-time winner on The European Tour last season, further strengthens an already star-studded field.
Jiménez has previously tasted success on the stunning Algarve, winning the Algarve Open de Portugal Caixa Geral de Depositos in 2004, and he is relishing the chance to add the Portugal Masters to his haul of 18 European Tour titles.
“It is always a pleasure to visit the Algarve in October, when the weather is still good and much warmer than other places in Europe,” said the 47 year old. “When you have sun, good food and wine and friendly people, you can’t go wrong.
“There are always good crowds at the Portugal Masters and I enjoy playing the excellent Oceânico Golf Course. It is close enough to my home in Malaga that I can drive my Ferrari to the tournament, which will be a lot of fun.
“I have won before in that area, but it was seven years ago, so it would be fantastic to win there again this year. I’ve been playing well this season so that is certainly the goal.”
Olazábal will be hoping for a return to the form which yielded a fifth place finish in the Iberdrola Open earlier this year, but he will also have the chance to run the rule over potential members of his European Ryder Cup Team for next year, as the players look to secure valuable qualification points.
