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Sat, 1st Feb 2003 THE www.algarvegolf.net - THE INTERNET SITE FOR ALGARVE GOLF This site which is one of the sites of the Portugal-info Network went online in 1998 in a different format. It was early days for the Internet in the Algarve and we as a company were at the time only one year old. We approached at that time one of the important local Hotel Groups and asked them to back our idea of having a comprehensive site to cover the golfing world of the Algarve. Their response was enthusiastic but with their limited experience of the Internet they were understandably reluctant to risk any investment to cover the construction costs. We decided to invest ourselves in the idea; coupled with an agreement from the Hotel Group that the site would be designed to help fill their bedrooms with golfers. When the site was online they would act as Sponsors and cover the running costs. From our statistics we are led to believe that the site very quickly became a solid success. Unfortunately, the site failed to grow in its design as the Hotel Group continued to financially 'sit on the fence' and in the early autumn of year 2000 the Group changed their marketing policy and the Sponsorship was terminated. The situation now allowed us to completely re-design and greatly enlarged the content of the site. The new site was placed back online in February of 2001 and incorporated many of the initial disregarded ideas, including the concept of this newsletter. As we continue to be fed with many e-mails from the visitors, we are constantly reviewing and updating the information and when necessary adding additional Web Pages. One interesting statistic for those inclined! The site from February to December registered in its ten months of existence over 41.000 “unique visitors”. Compared to some major golfing areas this figure may be minuscule. However, in relation to the annual total number of golfers playing in the Algarve this number is beginning to have weight. This year promises a much higher total as the “unique visitors” figure for January is in excess of 6.000. Naturally, we have some major problems of a local nature to overcome. We believe that it is important for the visitor to be well informed about forthcoming events so that they may be aware of availability of any given course on any given day. As yet, regardless of the many expressions of goodwill and promises from Golf Directors there is no structure yet in place and we are seldom kept sufficiently informed. To emphasize our enthusiastic and sincere intentions in regard to the future of www.algarvegolf.net we have organized in June of this year our first Golf Tournament to take place at Tavira and details are given below. Our objective is to hold a friendly competitive event in a un-spoilt and historic area of the Algarve on two attractive courses that are not too well known to most visiting golfers. Participation is warmly welcomed so please visit our Web Pages as indicated below for further details. 1º Sotavento Trophy - Location: Benamor & Quinta da Ria Courses, Tavira Schedule: 4 days of different Tournaments Date: 9th to 16th of June, 2002 |
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Sat, 1st Feb 2003 At the end of January the 10th 'International Portugues Ladies Senior 2002 Competition' was played on the Pinhal and Laguna Courses at Vilamoura by 112 Seniors from 10 different countries. The 'Super Senior Trophy' was won by Anne Thomson with 166, and the Portuguese winner was Bebe Cabral. The 'Nations Cup' was won by the team consisting of Beatriz Ramirez de Haro, Milangros Yanes and Isabel Lorenzana. The 'Individual Trophy' was won by Palona Menezes in the 1st Category, Carminda Ribeiro in the 2nd Category and Simonetta Papetti in the 3rd Catogory. The 'Pairs Trophy' was won by Mimi Gugielmon and Franca de Blonay in the 1st Category, and Paola Giordani and Marfinela Galimberti in the 2nd Category. |
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Palmares Sat, 1st Feb 2003 In May of 1981 Francisco Cabral (Kico)took over from Antonio Pontes in the direction of the Palmares Golf Course near Lagos on one of the most attractive courses in the Algarve. The course is designed so that it runs southwards from the crest of the Meia Praia hill down to holes constructed on top of the sand dunes and then back up the slope to the Clubhouse. Whilst playing their round the players have magnificent elevated views over the ever changing blue of the sea in the Bay of Lagos that stretches endlessly to the horizon. The timing of the opening of the course in 1976 was unfortunate as tourism had yet not recovered from the dramatic events of the previous year. Added to this was the fact that the owner and his assets had been seized by the new and temporary 'government' in Lisbon. Construction around the course of homes was obviously placed to one side and until this day the fact that there are only almond trees instead of residential property lining the fairways is another one of its natural charms. Unlike many of the other Algarve courses, Palmares has from the beginning had to look to the residential market to provide an important part of its income. Under the popular direction of Kico Cabral there is a very active local Membership which over the years has grown steadily alongside that of the visiting golfer. Kico acquired his love of the sport from his father who was a founding member of the Estoril Golf Course near Lisbon. His father was such a strong player that he was selected to partner the Prince of Wales on his visit to Portugal. The Prince of Wales was later to become the ill-fated King Edward VIII. During the twenty-one years at Palmares, Kico has seen three different owners which at times has required some deft footwork on his part to keep things running smoothly. The present owners are who Sonae S.A. have exciting plans on the drawing board which will undoubtedly change this serene and scenic course. Looking back Kico considers that the progress of golf in the Algarve 'has been in a wise way and at a pace that has fitted in with what the rest of the development of the Algarve'. To assist in this he has been an active member of the Algarve Golf Courses Association, having been its past President and generally influencing its progress. Over the years Kico has built an experienced team that is lead by Urbano Aguas and Miguel Sousa, the Commercial Manager. A recent third member of many years standing was Dennis Garvey who has just recently moved to another course near Lagos. Regina is the Head Receptionist with Sandra, Monica, Rita and Magarida to assist. Buggies now fall under the responsibilities of Antonio Correia, the Course Controller who has been at Palmares from the day it officially opened. The Greenkeeper Eng. Henriques da Silva has only recently joined the team. He brings considerable experience from his other courses which include Vila Sol at Vilamoura, Praia D'El Rey to the north of Lisbon, and Troia just south of Setubal. Another old-timer is the Head Pro, Luís Espadinha, who has been part of the staff from the day it opened. The Assistant Pro is the well known Jose Dias who is at present rated 4th in the General Portuguese Golf Order of Merit, and placed 3rd in the Portuguese total winnings list. He will be one of the Portuguese contingent taking part in the 'Algarve Portuguese Open' at Vale do Lobo this coming April. Prominently above the desk in Kico's office is a framed photo of the late Sir Henry Cotton. He was to Kico more than his a close personal friend for in his words he was 'his guiding light'. This fact coupled with his membership of St Andrews will hardly keep Kico from disappearing out of his beloved golfing world! |
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Palmares Sat, 1st Feb 2003 At the beginning of month of February the 'Almond Blossom Trophy' was contested on the Palmares Course near Lagos. The overall winner was Luis Costa with a net of 69. Following closely behind was Lars Elstrom with 70 and F. Boswall with 71. The Mens Net winner was Valdemar Afonso with a 73. Three players tied for the Ladies Net with 75. They were Sue Farmer, Mary Lock and Melenie Lock. The Gross Mens scores were taken by Antonio Correia and Jeremy Dier, and the Ladies was won by Anke Croteau. |
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Laguna Sat, 1st Feb 2003 Half way through February the Lusotur S.A. hosted the '2002 Andre Jordan Trophy' on its Laguna Course. This is an unusual and interesting competition which combines the very different skills of yacht seamanship with those of the golf course. The combined winner was Fred Ihmoff from Holland, with Georg Haindl from Germany lying in second place. |
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Sat, 1st Feb 2003 In the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic Phil Mickelson carded a final round 64 and a tournament score of 30 under par to win closing the gap between him and Tiger Woods at the top to 4.73 points. David Berganio's second place finish moves him up into the World Top 100 at No.99 while Cameron Beckman continues his progress up the Rankings to World No.80. Chris DiMarco returned to winning ways in the United States when he took the honours in the Phoenix Open over the TPC course at Scottsdale in Arizona. Chris DiMarco recovered from losing a four-stroke lead at the turn to take the victory and move up 6 places to his highest ever World Ranking position remaining just outside the World Top 10 at Nº 11. Kaname Yokoo from Japan and Kenny Perry finished in the runner-up spots and they both advance up to No.124 and to No.16 respectively. Double US Open Champion Lee Janzen fired a final round of 66 to return him to the Nº 85 – an improvement of 21 places on the previous week. John Daly also finished in equal 4th place returning to the elusive World Top 50 at Nº 47. On the Sunshine Tour this week, the Englishman Chris Williams won the Telecom PGA Championship at the Woodhill Country Club moving up to World Nº 409. Chris Williams won the same title 17 years ago in 1985 at the Wanderers Golf Club. Ian Leggatt beat David Peoples and Loren Roberts by 2 shots to claim his first PGA Tour victory after winning the Touchstone Energy Tuscon Open at the Omni Tuscon National Golf Resort and Spa. Ian Leggatt moved to No.169 that week. On the Southern Africa Tour, Andrew McLardy completed a 2-shot victory over Nick Henning to win the Royal Swazi Sun Open at the Royal Swazi Sun Country Club. Andrew McLardy moved to No.286 in the world. |
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Sat, 1st Feb 2003 Tim Clark - (South Africa) South African Open The Country Club - Durban - South Africa - 10th to 13th January, 2002 South African golfer Tim Clark won the European Tour South Africa Open in Durban by two strokes from Steve Webster of England. Two players lay a further four stokes back and they were James Kingston and Jonathan Lomas. |
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Sat, 1st Feb 2003 Justin Rose - (England) Dunhill Championship Houghton - Johannesburg - South Africa - 17th to 20th January, 2002 The Dunhill Championship at Houghton Golf Club in Johannesburg was won by Justin Rose by playing a final round of 65. Rose advanced to Nº 106 in the Rankings. Three players tied as the runner-ups. Retief Goosen continued his good start to 2002 when he moved up one place to World Nº 9 and his fellow countryman Martin Maritz with England's Mark Foster both moved into the World Top 200 for the first time in their careers. Maritz became No. 193 and Foster moved up to No.197. |
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Sat, 1st Feb 2003 Retief Goosen - (South Africa) Johnnie Walker Classic Lake Karrinyup - Perth - Australia - 24th to 27th January, 2002 Retief Goosen completed his 8th and most impressive European Tour victory when he destroyed an outstanding field to win the Johnnie Walker Classic at Lake Karrinyup Country Club in Perth, Western Australia. Retief Goosen's third round of 63 opened up a record-breaking 13 shot lead and the 73 on the Sunday means that Retief Goosen now moved up two places to Nº 7. A brilliant final round 66 by the Swedish Ryder Cup player Pierre Fulke gave him the outright 2nd position and a welcome return to the Top 50 players in the World. Pierre Fulke moved up 16 places from Nº 57 to Nº 41. Sergio Garcia finished in 3rd position but remained at Nº 4 with the South-African Ernie Els remaining at World No.5 after his 4th place finish. |
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Sat, 1st Feb 2003 Ernie Els - (South Africa) Heineken Classic Royal Melbourne - Victoria - Australia - 31st to 3rd February, 2002 With a comfortable lead of five strokes South African golfer Ernie Els claimed the victory on the European Tour from Peter Fowler from Australia, David Howell from England, and Peter O'Mallet also from Australia. |
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Sat, 1st Feb 2003 Richard S. Johnson - (Sweden) ANZ Championship The Lakes - Sydney - Australia - 7th to 10th February, 2002 Swedish golfer Richard S. Johnson beat the pair of Australians, Scott Laycock and Parry Craig, to take the victory on the European Tour at the ANZ Championship in Sydney. |
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Sat, 1st Feb 2003 Kevin Sutherland - (USA) WGC - Accenture Match Play La Costa - Carlsbad - California - USA - 20th to 24th February, 2002 At the La Costa Resort and Spa in California, the No.62 seed Kevin Sutherland won the World Golf Championship Accenture Match Play to secure the $1 million first place prize and his first PGA Tour victory. Kevin Sutherland moved up 33 places to World No. 32 and also moved to No.2 in the US money list. Scott McCarron finished in the runner-up position and Scott moved up 12 spots to No.21. Brad Faxon needed 19 holes to win the 3rd place play-off match against Paul Azinger and Brad moved up 8 places to No.28 in the world and collected $450,000 for his weeks work. Paul Azinger claimed $360,000 of the tournament’s $5.5 million purse money and moved up 7 to No.19. |
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Sat, 1st Feb 2003 Arjun Atwal - (India) Caltex Singapore Masters Laguna National - Tampines - Singapore - 21st to 24th February, 2002 Arjun Atwal became the first Indian to win on the European Tour International Schedule after he shot a minus 14 total of 274 to win the Caltex Singapore Masters at the Laguna National Golf and Country Club. The 28-year old golfer from Calcutta moved up 117 places to No.186 and his highest career position. Richard Green from Australia moved up to World No. 115 after finishing second. Six-time Major Champion Nick Faldo continued his good start in 2002 with a 3rd place finish. |
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Sat, 1st Feb 2003 Alastair Forsyth - (Scotland) Carlsberg Malaysian Open Royal Selangor - Kuala Lumpur - Malaysia - 28th to 3rd March, 2002 Alastair Forsyth from Scotland was involved in a playoff with Stephen Leaney of Australia in order to claim the victory of the Malaysian Open at Kualar Lumpur on the European Tour. |
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