The debrief - 57° Open de Portugal

Adrian Meronk became the first Pole to win a European Challenge Tour title by triumphing at the 57° Open de Portugal @ Morgado Golf Resort, but did you see everything that happened in Portimao? We have got you covered…

Big putts

Scoring at the 57° Open de Portugal @ Morgado Golf Resort fluctuated across the four days, with the one example being Henric Sturehed, who posted rounds of 66-75-65-72 to lead on both the first and third days, before finishing in a tie for fifth place. Scoring on Sunday was, on the whole, slightly more difficult than the previous days and with every stroke counting hugely towards the Road to Mallorca Rankings, a number of players holed important birdies putts on the 72nd hole to claim additional Rankings points.

Story of the Day

Many different facets come together to ensure a Challenge Tour event runs smoothly, and there are some things people do not see. One of those is the Challenge Tour physio, who is responsible for looking after each one of the 156 players in the field. To get a glimpse of what goes on in the treatment room, we spent the day with Jass Sidhu at the Open de Portugal.

Happy birthday!

It is a great thing when an amateur makes the cut at a Challenge Tour event, and it’s even better when they are local to the venue. Add to that the fact that they’re only 16 and it’s their birthday on the third day of the tournament and it becomes even more special. Daniel Rodrigues, a Portuguese amateur, did exactly that in Portimao, making the cut aged 16 on Friday before turning 17 on Saturday. Then, he capped off a memorable weekend by carding a three under par 69 to close the tournament on Sunday.

Pesky mosquitoes

The weather in Portugal was excellent, with high temperatures and blue skies making it the perfect conditions to play golf. There was, however, a short downpour of rain on Friday evening after play had finished, which brought the mosquitoes out to play. Marcus Armitage, who finished the week in a tie for 31st place, took matters into his own hands when it came to dealing with the bites…

Fist bumps

Some Challenge Tour players carry their own bags, some pull a trolley, some have a professional caddy and some have their partners on the bag. The latter is the case for Bryce Easton, who has his wife Lauren helping him out on the course. After we spotted Lauren holding out for a first bump from her husband here:

We caught them playing up for the camera the following day: