Open de Portugal renews with Royal Óbidos for another three years
The 60th edition of what is one of the oldest and most emblematic European tournaments is ready
The Portuguese Open will be played this week for the 60th time, for the third time at the Royal Óbidos Spa & Golf Resort, and will remain on the course designed by the late Seve Ballesteros.
«We have already renewed the contract for another three years on the same field, with which we are very good», said Miguel Franco de Sousa today, in an interview with SportTV’s ‘Grande Jornal’, the official of the only English tournament on the Challenge Tour.
«It is another edition of an important event in the national golf scene, alongside the Portugal Masters, which will take place at the end of October. Strategically for us it is essential to organize it, for two reasons: to promote a tourist destination, the West and Óbidos in particular, and to allow the participation of Portuguese players in countries of the Challenge Tour abroad», added the president of the FPG.
The 60th edition starts tomorrow (Wednesday) with the renewed Hyundai Pro-Am, from 10:10 am, this year with more public figures, in fact, Miguel Franco de Sousa will act in the favorable group by the professional Tiago Osório, who will have like other amateur players, actress and presenter Carolina Torres and comedian and actor Rui Unas.
Miguel Franco de Sousa has doubts that, despite the complicated weather forecasts, we will have a great 60th edition: «We will have the first six classified in the Challenge Tour ranking at the Portuguese Open at Royal Óbidos, which in itself already tells of the importance of this event. We have nine Portuguese athletes, but we also have former Portuguese Open champions, in particular Grégory Bourdy, who won the Oitavos Dunes in 2008».
«So, for the Challenge Tour, it is a very good list of participants and with the Portuguese an important card to be played for their rankings in the ranking, which may allow them to keep their ‘card’ for next year on the Challenge Tour or, who knows, get a place on the circuit above, the DP World Tour», added the president of the FPG.
The victory of a Portuguese is the icing on the cake, because it would be unprecedented, but for Miguel Sousa the great desideratum of the Portuguese Open at Royal Óbidos is to increase the competitiveness of the national series: «Strategically for us young people it is important that it would allow young professionals have had opportunities to play when they go from amateurs to professionals. Many investments in the selections are, while these athletes are amateurs. Then, by organizing these types of countries, we create competitive frameworks for these professionals who are fundamental in the first years of activity».
In fact, just for organizing the Portuguese Open at Royal Óbidos, the FPG receives thirty invitations from the Challenge Tour that are then exchanged with other tournament promoters, with Portuguese players competing abroad regularly throughout the season.
The president of the FPG also congratulated himself on the fact that this 60th edition has more support: «We obviously have the support of the golf course with a very significant investment, also from Turismo de Portugal, the IPDJ and, for the first time, of Óbidos City Council, who, after three years, finally, with a new president, gave us support to organize this event with an even higher quality and with more projection».
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