Brothers Ricardo and Hugo Santos, José-Filipe Lima, António Rosado, Tiago Cruz, Pedro Figueiredo and Gonçalo Pinto are are all hoping to be a home winner at the Portugal Masters at the Oceânico Victoria Golf Course next month.
All seven will compete in the fifth Portugal Masters from October 13 - 16, which has a prize fund of €2.5 million and is sponsored by the Portugal Tourist Board.
Ricardo Santos is currently third in the European Challenge Tour Rankings and Lima is 25th, while Hugo Santos is top of the PGA of Portugal Order of Merit. Rosado is the national champion, Cruz is a regular competitor on the EPD Tour, while Figueiredo and Pinto are amateurs, the former a star at the University of California Los Angeles and the latter the national amateur champion.
Much has changed in Portuguese golf in the last year. Twelve months ago Lima was the undisputed Portuguese number one, a status he had held since he chose to represent the Portuguese Golf Federation in late 2004. He was also a Member of The European Tour and was third after the second round of the 2010 Portugal Masters.
Ricardo Santos was ranked third in the PGA of Portugal Ranking and had a poor Challenge Tour category, but he was tied sixth heading into the final round at the Oceânico Victoria Golf Course.
Now Ricardo has usurped Lima as Portugal’s top player, and is guaranteed to graduate to The European Tour next season following his victory in The Princess by Schüco.
Lima and Santos shared the same manager (Pedro Ribeiro) and the same psychologist (Zoe Chamberlain), but they have a healthy rivalry.
“I am delighted that Ricardo is playing well,” said Lima. “It is good for the crowd to have Portuguese players to cheer for. This is good for Portuguese golf.”
The rivalry kept Portuguese media entertained at last year’s Portugal Masters, as Lima eventually finished 36th on ten under, two shots ahead of Ricardo Santos, who slipped to a disappointing five over par 77 in the last round.
"I am quite sure I have never shot five over at the Oceânico Victoria, either in practice or tournaments,” said Ricardo. “Those who are used to playing and practising with me know that, even playing my worst. But the emotions were flowing and everything was different.”
Ricardo now says that tournament was a turning point in his development.
This year he will again feel the pressure of playing at his home course, in front of family, friends and all the Portuguese spectators who are keen for a home champion.
“The Portugal Masters is very special to me,” said Ricardo, who with his brother Hugo qualified for the Omega Mission Hills World Cup in China in November. “Last year it almost felt like a Ryder Cup atmosphere. I'm playing in my backyard and there is a huge prize fund at stake.”
