The Open de Portugal at Royal Óbidos takes place for a sixth consecutive year this week. Here are three players to keep an eye on…
Form horse: Anton Albers
German Anton Albers is yet to win on the HotelPlanner Tour but arrives in Portugal as one of the form players on the Road to Mallorca. The German’s uptick in form began at the Vierumäki Finnish Challenge supported by Finnish Golf Union, where he ended the week inside the top 15, six shots back of winner, David Law. Since then, however, Albers’ impressive form has only continued. Following a top ten finish at The Dutch Futures and a tied for 12th at the Dormy Open, the 26-year-old posted a season-best outing at the GAC Rosa Challenge Tour at Rosa Golf Club in Poland last week.
The German pieced together an impressive final round, which included four back nine birdies to finish two strokes back of Swede Hugo Townsend. With Albers finding form at the right time, a maiden victory at Royal Óbidos wouldn’t come as a surprise.
Local boy: Tomás Bessa
Tomás Bessa will tee it up in his home HotelPlanner Tour event fresh off a season-best finish, coming at the GAC Rosa Challenge Tour at Rosa Golf Club, where the Portuguese ended the week at four under par and in a tie for 20th. The 29-year-old also has fond memories of Royal Óbidos, having finished in a tie for sixth at the 2022 edition. What’s more, 12 months later, Bessa fired a scintillating nine under par opening round of 63 – the low round of the week – to set the early pace in Óbidos.
Currently 186th on the season-long Road to Mallorca Rankings, the 29-year-old will need more of the same if he’s to force his way into the conversation before the top 68 head to China for the Hainan Open and Hangzhou Open in October.
Outsider: John Gough
John Gough will head to Portugal in confident mood fresh from a string of positive showings on the Road to Mallorca. The Englishman’s upturn in form first emerged at the Farmfoods Scottish Challenge supported by The R&A, where a final round of 65 moved the 26-year-old into the top five, four strokes back of winner Daniel Young.
Gough also impressed at the Dormy Open at Upsala GolfKlubb, where he posted a four-round total of 21 under par to end the week in a tie for fourth. Following a top 15 at last week’s GAC Rosa Challenge Tour, the Englishman, currently 23rd in the Rankings, will be looking to further cement his promotion chances when he tees it up at Royal Óbidos for the first time this week.
