Vilamoura old course

Filipe Lima prefers the Portugal Golf Masters to the Challenge Golf Tour

Posted on February 8, 2021 by Tee Times

Filipe Lima

Filipe Lima prefers the Portugal Golf Masters

Filipe Lima has no doubts and ensures that he will choose the Portugal Golf Masters, to be played in Vilamoura at Dom Pedro Victoria Golf Course over the South African swing of the Challenge Golf Tour.

The 39-years-old Portuguese has the prestige to play in full time on the Challenge Golf Tour in 2021, but will choose to compete in the second European division and concentrate more on the opportunities he has to play in the main European level, not feeling that way, affected for the Challenge Golf Tour decision to postpone its three tournaments in South Africa from February to April and May.

Last season, when he realized that the pandemic would damage the competitive calendar, the Portuguese golfer resident in France took the opportunity to reduce the competitions, given the promise of the European circuit organizers to freeze the categories and keep them for 2021.

Likely, Filipe Lima would only enter the Oman Open Golf in March, so if the Challenge Golf Tour kicks off in February, as planned, he could try his luck.

Filipe Lima has a special affection for the Portugal Golf Masters in Vilamoura played at the Dom Pedro Victoria Golf Course. He is the second Portuguese with the best honours in this competition. He cut four times and in 2017 tied with Ricardo Melo Gouveia in 5th place, with whom he shares this national record.

It would be a weight reinforcement to have him at the Montado Hotel & Golf Resort (1st Tournament of the FPG Circuit). Ricardo Melo Gouveia has already perfectly admitted the possibility of starting his 2021 season in Palmela and, after all, Lima and Melo Gouveia are the two players who represented Portugal at the Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games in 2016.

Tee Times Golf Agency shares the special affection for the Portugal Masters and the Dom Pedro Victoria Golf Course, having for this tournament and all the golf holidays vast suggestions of golf packages including the best hotels and golf courses in the region, highlighting the Hotels: Tivoli Marina Vilamoura, Vila Galé (Ampalius & Marina), Dom Pedro (Vilamoura & Marina) and all the other Vilamoura courses (Pinhal, Laguna, Millennium & Old course).

Source: Hugo Ribeiro / Tee Times Golf (teetimes.pt) for Record

Leonor Bessa first woman winner of the PGA Portugal Tour

Posted on February 2, 2021 by Tee Times

Leonor Bessa, Photo: Carla Guerreiro / PGA Portugal

Leonor Bessa winner of the PGA Portugal Tour

December 1st, 2020, entered in the history of national golf as the first time that a woman won a mixed tournament on the PGA Portugal Tour, the Portuguese Professional Circuit.

The national champion defeated her boyfriend Tomás Melo Gouveia in the play-off at Amendoeira Golf Resort, in the center of the Algarve and a unique natural beauty with the award-winning Faldo Course, designed by Sir Nick Faldo and the challenging O’Connor Jnr course.

Leonor Bessa is the author of this accomplishment ended the calendar of high competition in Portugal in the 2020 season.

Leonor Bessa had already won both women’s tournaments, in July and September, and is, therefore, the current national professional champion and absolute national champion. This most recent triumph maintained her invincibility internally and had a special impact for the historical record.

The 22-year-old Portuguese totalled 67 strokes, 5 below the Par of O’Connor Jr. Golf Course at Amendoeira Golf Resort, thanks to an exceptional round, unique in her professional career, as she had never made 18 competitive holes without suffering bogeys and converted 5 birdies.

The title decision was played at hole 18, where Tomás had even made a birdie and Leonor had matched the Par-4. Therefore, none played particularly well and it was with 1 bogey that the national champion took over her third title of the year.

A “sudden death”, at least curious and unusual, because Leonor Bessa and Tomás Melo Gouveia started dating this year and often train together in Algarve golf courses, such as: Vilamoura Pinhal, Vilamoura Millennium, Vilamoura Laguna, Vilamoura Old Course, Vilamoura Victoria as well as in Vale do Lobo Royal & Ocean, San Lorenzo & Pinheiros Altos and Quinta do Lago North, South & Laranjal, a region where they both reside and full of wonderful accommodation offers for an unforgettable golf holiday, we highlight the 5 star Hotels, Tivoli Marina Vilamoura, Crowne Plaza as well as the 4 star Hotels, Vila Galé Ampalius, Vila Galé Marina, Dom Pedro Vilamoura & Dom Pedro Marina.

Besides boyfriends, Tomás was Leonor’s caddy in tournaments of the Spanish Santander Golf Tour at the Real Golf Pedreña and at Oliva Nova Golf (Valencia) and she was also a caddy of him in a European Tour tournament, so the normal thing is to pull each other and not directly rival each other.

Her international season was also positive, ending, for the first time, in the top 10 (7th) of the Santander Golf Tour ranking, the Spanish professional circuit.

But the great achievement of this PGA Portugal Open was to meet for the first time this year, in the same tournament counting only for internal rankings, Tomás Bessa (-4), the national champion of professionals, who competes in the Alps Tour Golf; Ricardo Melo Gouveia (-3), the absolute national champion, who fights on the Challenge Tour; and Pedro Lencart (Par), the national amateur champion. In 2020 this happened only in the Portuguese tournaments of the European Tour and in this event.

The top-10 of the PGA Portugal Open 2020, held at the O’Connor Jr. Golf Course at Amendoeira Golf Resort, was as follows:

1st Leonor Bessa, 67 strokes (5 under par), (play-off victory), tee off from the blue marks;

2nd Tomás Melo Gouveia, 67 (-5), white marks;

3rd Tomás Bessa, 68 (-4), white marks;

3rd Miguel Gaspar, 68 (-4), white marks;

5. Ricardo Melo Gouveia, 69 (-3), white marks;

5th Tomás Silva, 69 (-3), white marks;

7th Susana Ribeiro, 71 (-1), blue marks;

7th Vítor Lopes, 71 (-1), white marks;

7th Alexandre Abreu, 71 (-1), white marks;

7th Pedro Cruz Silva, 71 (-1), amateur, white marks;

Tee Times Golf Agency congratulates Leonor Bessa on her success and wishes her many more achievements in her bright future, as well as, to all our clients, unforgettable golf holidays in our country that we will be happy to organize.

Source: Hugo Ribeiro / Tee Times Golf (teetimes.pt) for Record

Better golf

Posted on October 16, 2020 by Tee Times

Better golf

Callaway Golf has launched its new Big Bertha B-21 range of drivers, fairway woods, hybrids and irons, ‘for distance any way you swing it‘.
The manufacturer says these new clubs have been engineered with premium technologies and legendary Big Bertha design features, and launched the range with the tagline ‘this is distance any way you swing it’. Basically, the clubs have been designed for higher handicap golf swings, promising added distance through lower spin, easy launch and extra slice-fighting forgiveness.

Big Bertha B-21 Driver
This new driver is long, forgiving, easy to hit, and targeted at players who tend to slice and find it tricky to get a consistent ball flight. It’s Callaway’s first driver with high launch, low spin and significant draw bias.
Big Bertha B-21 features the company’s A.I. designed Flash Face SS21 made of a super strong, heat-treated TA-15 titanium. Internal heel weighting generates lower spin to help reduce the amount of curvature on your ball flight. The clubs also have Callaway’s Jailbreak Technology, which is two internal bars connecting the sole and crown to promote fast ball speed, and a significantly lighter carbon crown makes it easier to redistribute weight for increased forgiveness.

Big Bertha B-21 Fairway Woods
Callaway says this is their easiest to launch fairway wood yet, promising greater distance, more consistent contact and smoother turf interaction. They share many of the same technologies as the driver, with the addition of an increased offset which is designed to eradicate the big slice or miss-hit from your game.

Big Bertha B-21 Hybrids
Like the driver and fairways woods, Big Bertha Hybrids feature the A.I. designed Flash Face SS21 and Jailbreak tech for increased ball speed. They are Callaway’s easiest to launch hybrids yet with an increased head volume, and a greater offset to correct wild spinning shots. These clubs have the addition of tungsten weights which are precisely placed into the sole of the clubhead to enhance launch and trajectory.

Big Bertha B-21 Irons
Again with an emphasis on forgiveness and distance, Callaway has made the Big Bertha B21 irons easy to hit by generous offset, wide soles and thick toplines to inspire the confidence we all need at address. This is the first time that their A.I. designed Flash Face Cup is on a Big Bertha Iron, which promotes high balls speeds and increased spin robustness. There’s a tungsten toe weight which promotes a stable centre of gravity and forgiveness, while a second weight low on the sole to the rear increases launch angle for those who struggle with a consistent ball flight.