Ricardo Melo Gouveia, Photo: Octávio Passos
Challenge Golf Tour
Ricardo Melo Gouveia and Filipa Lima will have to choose between three golf tournaments in South Africa and the Portugal Golf Masters to be held at the Dom Pedro Victoria Golf course, in Vilamoura.
The Challenge Golf Tour announced the postponement of the start of the season in about two months, directly affecting Portuguese players such as Ricardo Melo Gouveia and Filipe Lima, who are members of the second European division, and Stephen Ferreira, who is entitled to play some of the events on this circuit via Sunshine Golf Tour.
The European Challenge Golf Tour and the Sunshine Golf Tour jointly announced the confirmation of the postponement of the three co-organized tournaments in South Africa.
For the time being, no similar measure is planned for the European Golf Tour, which has everything set to start on January 21, with the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship. It is a tournament of the Rolex Series, that is, one of the strongest of the year in the first European division, and no Portuguese should have entry. Ricardo Santos is the best placed but is currently ten places out of the list of subscribers.
The European Golf Tour follows an extremely strict health and safety plan, with all players, coaches, caddies, journalists, circuit, hotel and golf courses staff to be tested before entering the “health bubble”.
The Sunshine Golf Tour and the Challenge Golf Tour are dependent on the pandemic worldwide evolution, being postponement according to this evolution.
The two circuits should return to their activity in February. The Dimension Data Pro-Am would open the season from February 11th to 14th, followed by the Cape Town Open from February 18th to 21st and the Limpopo Championship from February 25th to 28th.
With this change of calendar, the Challenge Golf Tour will only start from 22 to 25 April safely in South Africa. The Cape Town Open will follow from 29 April to 2 May, and the Dimension Data Pro-Am, from May 6th to 9th.
Professional Ricardo Melo Gouveia from the luxury Quinta do Lago area with its greats Quinta do Lago North, South and Laranjal Golf Courses, as well as San Lorenzo & Pinheiros Altos Golf courses and the magnificent overlooking the Atlantic ocean 5 stars Hotel Quinta do Lago, has his situation regularized with the British state as a foreign resident and Brexit will not affect him.
In competitive terms, things have not been easy for Ricardo Melo Gouveia. It was scheduled to start his season on January 17th, at the Palmares Open but the Portugal Pro Golf Tour decided to cancel its entire 2020/21 season.
When the circuit returns, Ricardo Melo Gouveia will have a difficult decision to make. This redefinition of the calendar puts the Cape Town Open right on top of the Portugal Golf Masters of the European Golf Tour.
However, Ricardo Melo Gouveia has a special relationship with Portugal Golf Masters held at the Dom Pedro Victoria Golf course in Vilamoura. He has been the best Portuguese player in the most important national golf event for six years running, and in those six years, he has made two top-10 and two top-30.
Playing a tournament in South Africa, returning to Portugal, to return to the Sunshine Golf Tour in three straight weeks is an idea, but physically very exhausting.
An identical dilemma should present itself to Filipe Lima. Stephen Ferreira never received invitations to the Portugal Golf Masters, so he will surely play the three tournaments co-organized by the Challenge Golf Tour and the Sunshine Golf Tour.
Tee Times Golf Agency is attentive to all updates of all national and international tournaments and available to organize all the necessary services (golf packages with accommodation, green fees, transfers, rent-a-car, club rental and others) for players and companions, travelling alone or in groups.
Source: Hugo Ribeiro / Tee Times Golf (teetimes.pt) for Record
