Javier Barcos Garbayo comes into this week’s Open de Portugal full of confidence off the back of a second top five of the season at last week’s English Trophy.
The rookie Spaniard has taken to life on the Road to Mallorca well, with rounds of 71-66-67-66 seeing him into a share of fourth at The Caversham and into the top 50 in the Rankings for the first time this season.
Barcos Garbayo was pleased to finally show his best stuff after a slow start to the 2026 season, having missed his first seven cuts.
“I found the season a bit rough at the beginning,” he said. “I didn’t play good in the first seven events, and then I sat down with my coach and started planning what I was going to do, trying to relax and have trust in what I was working on.
“After that I’ve been playing better and have had a lot of confidence going into the last part of the season.”
Barcos Garbayo spent the 2025 season on the Alps Tour, an Official Satellite to the HotelPlanner Tour, where he won the season-long Rankings to earn a spot on the Road to Mallorca.
Although the 24-year-old found the transition testing, he felt his game has always been at a high enough level to compete after making the step up.
“The transition was a little hard,” he added. “I played a couple of HotelPlanner Tour events so it wasn’t like out of nowhere, but it still felt like a big step mentality-wise.
“I was playing to get to this tour, that was my goal, and then that pressure that comes with it was something that I wasn’t prepared for. I think playing more tournaments has made me play better golf because the game was there, just mentally I wasn’t prepared for it.
“The transition to professional golf is different because you are playing for your future so having the Alps Tour to transition between being an amateur and coming to the HotelPlanner Tour gives you a lot of good experience and it makes you a better golfer for sure.”
Barcos Garbayo finally got his season off the ground when he finished in a share of eighth at the Danish Golf Challenge in May.
The Spaniard flew out of the blocks with six birdies in his opening nine holes, building the momentum that saw him through to not only his first made cut, but his first ever top ten at the level.
He has since followed that up with two top five finishes.
“I couldn’t tell you specifically what I found, I was just talking with my coach about how to prepare for weeks and he told me to be calm about it, keep trusting your golf and that week in Denmark everything just clicked.
“I played really good the first nine holes, I think I was six under through nine and I just kept playing like that for the whole tournament,” he added. “It wasn’t like anything changed, just after one good nine holes I felt the confidence I was missing for the first seven tournaments of the year.
“That first made cut of the year just changed everything, I didn’t have to worry anymore about making that first cut, I could just keep going and keep playing golf.”
Barcos Garbayo makes up part of a strong Spanish contingent on the HotelPlanner Tour, led by fellow rookie Pablo Ereno, who sits second on the Rankings and is primed to gain promotion to the DP World Tour.
And the 24-year-old has found the support of his fellow Spanish players beneficial as he adapts to HotelPlanner Tour life, giving him the support he has needed to succeed.
“I came up from the Alps Tour with Asier Aguirre who is from my area, I’m pretty close with him, and I’m really close with Joseba Torres as well,” he added. “I spent a year living with him in high school, but I mean all the Spaniards are pretty close.
“It gives a lot of comfort, and also talking with some more experienced guys, like Joel Moscatel, talking about the stuff they know better than I do and just trying to get used to everything. Leaning on those guys was pretty much what I did and I was very grateful for that.
“I have the same goal as everyone else, trying to get to that top 15 to get on the DP World Tour next year, but I need to get to the Grand Final first, that will be my goal.”
Barcos Garbayo makes up part of a strong field this week at PGA Aroeira No.1, including two-time winners MJ Daffue and John Gough.
Round one of the Open de Portugal begins on Thursday at 7:40am local time, with Barcos Garbayo teeing off alongside Tomas Bessa and Filip Mruzek at 1:28pm.
