By John Russell
Now in its sixth year, the Portugal Masters returns to its traditional venue, Vilamoura’s Oceânico Victoria course, from October 11 to 14.
Before the inaugural event in 2007, this Arnold Palmer-designed course had already staged the Algarve World Cup – one of the World Golf Championships – in 2005 and won by Wales.
The Oceânico Victoria is the flagship of Vilamoura’s five excellent layouts, with the resort’s Oceânico Old Course dating from 1969 rated second by the golfing cognoscenti. The plans for the Victoria were presented by Palmer in 2000 and four years later it was opened to high acclaim.
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The course is located in a 90-hectare area of gently undulating terrain adjacent to the Oceânico Millennium and Laguna courses, and incorporates several lakes interlinked by beautiful cascading water features which attract a wide range of mainly aquatic birds.
The Portugal Masters, a 72-hole stroke-play tournament, offers a prize fund of €2,250,000 this year, well above the PGA European Tour average, with €373,500 going to the winner.
Since the Masters’ inception, it has attracted many leading professionals on the tour and also produced five diverse champions. Since it is played late in the season it offers an opportunity for pros to boost their positions in the Race to Dubai ranking, whilst others are anxious to earn sufficient winnings to retain their tour cards for the following year.
The beautiful Portugal Masters trophy is admired by both contestants and the general public alike. Crafted from sterling silver, the design was inspired by the ancient armillary spheres formerly used in ocean navigation. Filigree annulets encircle a large ball set on a tee over a circular base where winners’ names are engraved.
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The Portugal Masters has produced several surprises, the first being a fabulous 11 under par score of 61 in the opening round in 2007 by Martin Kaymer, a record that still stands, but he was unable to maintain his momentum, finishing in a four-way tie for 7th place on 17 under par. The unexpected winner, scoring 64 in the final round, was Steve Webster, with a brilliant 25 under par aggregate of 263, two better than Swedish runner-up Robert Karlsson. It was an emotional win for Webster whose mother had sadly passed away a few weeks previously. That was his second win on the Tour, the other being the Italian Open in 2005. He was also the silver medal winner as leading amateur in the 1995 Open at St. Andrews after ending equal 24th.
Webster returned to defend his Portugal Masters title in 2008 but after scoring only level par for the first round he faced an uphill battle. He followed that with three sub-70 scores, finishing in third place tied with Ross Fisher and Robert Karlsson. Long-hitting Spaniard Álvaro Quiros’ 19-under-par tally of 269 was enough to edge out Paul Lawrie who finished alone in second place. Quiros mentioned that he was inspired by the many determined, emotional wins by his hero, Seve Ballesteros, who was then trying to recover from his brain cancer operation.
In 2009 it was Lee Westwood’s turn to win the event and end a frustrating two-year winless drought that included two play-off defeats and an amazing 26 top ten finishes, two of them in Majors. It seemed that Westwood had blown his chances at the penultimate par-5 hole where his second shot landed on a path beyond the shrubbery behind the green. Entitled to a free drop he amazingly lofted his ball onto the downward sloping green to within two feet of the hole. This feat almost won the Tour’s shot of the year, losing only to the miracle albatross scored by Argentine Rafa Echenique at the BMW International Open.
Australian left-hander Richard Green was the Master in 2010, scoring 65 in the final round to set a target of 18 under par whilst nine pairs were still on the course. He had a nervous wait but gradually the contenders, especially Pablo Martin, fell foul of the tricky finishing holes. One of those challenging was Jeppe Huldahl from Denmark who equalled the course record in the third round, but followed it with a disappointing 75.
Last year’s Portugal Masters produced an even greater surprise winner in 20-year-old Tom Lewis who was playing in only his third pro tournament, after winning the silver medal at The Open in July. He confidently compiled a last round score of 65 to emerge from the pack and finish one stroke ahead of Canary Islander, Rafael Cabrera-Bello.
It is difficult to predict the 2012 winner and we can only wait to see who raises the trophy this year. Thanks to the usual sunny weather, excellent condition of the course, efficient marshalling, enthusiastic galleries and widespread TV coverage, it has the formula to continued success.
Player profiles
Martin Kaymer
The German star has good memories of the Oceânico Victoria course, having set the course record of 61 in his first round in the first Portugal Masters. After winning the 2010 USPGA Championship and having an excellent 2011, he topped the official world ranking for several weeks. In 2012 he has been less successful but he made the 2012 Ryder Cup team. Ranked 32nd in both the world ranking and the Race to Dubai (R2D) in late September.
Padraig Harrington
The three-time Major winner enjoys playing in the Algarve and with his vast experience should be one of the leading contenders to win the Portugal Masters, and forget his disappointment at not earning a berth in the 2012 Ryder Cup squad. Currently 57th in the world ranking, he tied 4th in the US Open – his best result ‘over the pond’ this year. Well within the top 60 in Europe, Padraig is on track to make the final in Dubai.
Francesco Molinari
One of the most consistent players on Tour, the Italian is No. 3 in the 2012 European money list behind McIlroy and Rose, with winnings totalling €1,752,353 by the end of September. Was runner-up to Westwood at the 2009 Portugal Masters, and tied 2nd in 2010. Although without a win this year, Francesco – the younger of the Molinari siblings – came extremely close in the Scottish Open, losing only to a birdie by Jeev Milkha Singh in a sudden-death play-off.
Darren Clarke
One of the big names to return to the Oceânico Victoria course, Clarke has not enjoyed too much success since his sensational win at the 2011 Open when he was a 42-year-old. He has played in the Algarve since his amateur days when he trained with Irish teams, and as a pro almost won the Portuguese Open at Penha Longa in 1995, losing to the late Adam Hunter in a play-off. Darren is a 15-time winner in Europe and the USA.
David Lynn
This has been the 1.91m tall Englishman’s most lucrative year, having earned €1.1 million to date. His 2012 highlight was coming in second at the USPGA Championship in August, albeit eight strokes behind Rory McIlroy’s brilliant score, but ahead of a strong chasing pack. The 36-year-old is a well-seasoned pro, having joined the European Tour in 1996. Although having won only once, at the KLM Dutch Open in 2004, he has amassed another 53 top-10 finishes.
Rafael Cabrera Bello
The 28-year-old Spaniard from Las Palmas in the Canary Islands succeeded in joining the main European Tour in 2007 but lost his card, only to return in 2009 and then won the Austrian Open, shooting 60 in the last round. He previously won twice on the Challenge Tour but this year took the Omega Dubai Desert Classic title, following this with three top-3 finishes including 2nd at the Irish Open. He came in sole second at the 2011 Portugal Masters.
Jamie Donaldson
Like fellow Welshman Phillip Price, Jamie is a native of Pontypridd. He turned pro in 2000 and has had spells on both the Challenge and main Tours, with career earnings of close to €4.6 million. Winning on the main Tour proved to be elusive until this year’s Irish Open where he finally got the ‘monkey off his back’ at his 255th attempt, scoring four strokes less than runner-up Cabrera Bello. In the 2011 Portugal Masters Donaldson tied in 8th place.
Gonzalo Fernandez Castaño
One of the steadiest players on the European Tour, having won six times, including the 2012 BMW Italian Open played in Turin in mid-September, after a close battle with South African Garth Mulroy in the last round. The win was too late to qualify or be selected for the Ryder Cup team. Nicknamed Gonzo, he has won €831,591 from 19 events this year and is now 37th in the world ranking and 19th in the Race to Dubai.
Ricardo Santos
Born and brought up near Vilamoura, 30-year-old Ricardo and his elder brother Hugo – also now a pro – learned the game at the Vilamoura GC junior golf school. After a successful 2011 on the Challenge Tour where he won a tournament and had seven other top-10 finishes, Ricardo was promoted to the main European Tour. In May he had a sensational win at the Madeira Islands Open by four strokes, scoring 22 under par, with a last round of 63.
Tom Lewis
Can this 21-year-old Englishman repeat his phenomenal win at the Oceânico Victoria last year? He had experienced a meteoric rise to fame, having played as an amateur in the 2011 Walker Cup and the Open Championship at Royal St. Georges where he tied after one round with a 65 and ended in a tie for 30th to win the Silver Medal. He unfortunately has not enjoyed much success in 2012 but his memories of last year may bring back that magical form.
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