2018 Portugal Masters Preview
The European Tour is slowly winding down to its thrilling climax.
Next up we have the Portugal Masters, at the picturesque Dom Pedro Victoria GC in the stunning Vilamoura, followed by a week off as Team Europe and Team America do battle in the Ryder Cup.
After that, there’s a trio of beloved events in the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, the British Masters and the Valderrama Masters, and then a WGC tournament in China.
The season concludes thereafter with the three Race to Dubai playoff events.
And so while the Portugal Masters may feel like something of a lull in proceedings, there’s plenty of ranking points to be earned in the pursuit of a place in the lucrative end-of-campaign jolly or in the quest to retain a tour card.
The players will certainly enjoy themselves anyway. The weather is typically very nice in Portugal at this time of year, and the Dom Pedro course is a joy to play: not only does it look great, it’s a doddle too!
Marc Warren of Scotland plays in to the 18th green during day four of…
Marc Warren of Scotland plays in to the 18th green during day four of the Portugal Masters at Dom Pedro Victoria Golf Club on September 24, 2017 in Albufeira, Portugal. Get premium, high resolution news photos at Getty Images
Lucas Bjerregaard, the defending champion, won at -20 a year ago, and prior to that both Andy Sullivan and Padraig Harrington triumphed at the -23 mark.
The reasons for that are obvious. The Bentgrass greens are large in size, which facilitates low scoring, with average width fairways and minimal rough – aided by lots of sunshine in the area.
It’s a Par 71 course so there are only three Par 5s, but crucially they are all easy to take down: last year, there were 26 eagles and a staggering 500+ birdies on the longer holes across the course of the week.
The 15th is a driveable Par 4 too, which saw three eagles and 160 birdies in 2017. Arnold Palmer was clearly in forgiving mood when he designed this layout!
In such conditions you would expect in-form players to thrive, and look out or course specialists: Bjerregaard, Harrington and Sullivan have all shown form at Dom Pedro before and/or after their title-winning year.
There’s no reason not to expect another winning mark in the low -20s, and here are the picks we’ve made to reach that magical figure.
This Week’s Portugal Masters Fantasy Picks & Predictions
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