A New Season Began
Portugal Pro Golf Tour
Englishman Callum Tarren, Welsh amateur Gaelen Trew and Austrian amateur Maximilian Lechner were the winners of the first three tournaments of the Pro Golf Tour season, the very successful and ever-growing winter professional preparation circuit in the Algarve.
In this opening swing of the Algarve tour the highlight was the excellent participation of the young Portuguese professionals and the entry of the Dom Pedro Golf & Collection courses in the circuit.
This adhesion is due to a partnership between the Dom Pedro group and the Pro Golf Tour and is part of the objectives of the winter circuit leaders, who want to take their tournaments to the best courses in the Algarve. This year’s circuit will have 22 tournaments in the Algarve and the Grand Final in Tróia. It will distribute 250,000 euros in prize money.
Opening the circuit, the presence of an accredited figure of world golf: the Scottish Paul Lawrie. He accompanied his son Craig, who in the three tournaments always finished in the top ten, and is also preparing for the Senior Circuit.
Paul Lawrie, who turns 51 on January 1st, was a member of the world golf elite and was part of several European teams in the Ryder Cup, was European vice-captain in 2016 and has won many tournaments, notably the British Open. He created the Paul Lawrie Foundation to help young people under 18 learn golf and has thousands of students.
The Circuit opened with a Pro-Am at the 16-team Old Course, where young Portuguese pro Alexandre Abreu won with amateurs Emilie Rola, Carlos Rola and Stefan Astrom with 82 points. Special awards went to Makarius Kitima, Wendy Burn and Terry de Gruchy.
The professional tournament, Dom Pedro Old Course Classic, distributed 10,000 euros in prizes and had 64 players, 14 Portuguese. English Callum Tarren won with 137 (69-68), followed by Portuguese Tomás Bessa with 138 (70-68) and Swede Kevin Bengtsson and Scottish Craig Lawrie, both 139. Francisco Oliveira was the second best Portuguese with 144.
Dom Pedro Victoria Classic had 69 players (13 Portuguese) in the event. Welsh amateur Gaelen Trew at 138 (69-69) won, but the first place prize money went to Paul Lawrie at 138 (69-69), followed by Tomas Bessa 139 (72-67), Mark Young 140 and Craig Lawrie 141. The second best Portuguese was João Carlota (8th) with 142 followed by Tiago Cruz (9th) with 143.
At the end of the first phase of the circuit was played the Dom Pedro Pinhal Open with 62 players, 16 Portuguese. Noteworthy in this tournament was the participation of the young Portuguese professionals, with six finishing in the top ten and a strong push to win. Twenty-one-year-old Austrian amateur Maximilian Lechner won at 211 (67-72-72), 5 under par. In second place the Portuguese João Carlota (72-71-69) and Francisco Oliveira (71-70-71) were tied, both with 4 under par and who divided the prize money. In third place was amateur Pedro Lencart with 213, followed by Tomás Bessa and Craig Lawrie also with 213. Tomás Melo Gouveia was in 8th (214), Hugo Santos in 10th (216) and Alexandre Abreu 11th (216).
This is followed by the second swing of the circuit, starting at Pinheiros Altos, another first rate course.