Planning luxury golf holidays in Portugal and Spain made easy

Hugo Espírito Santo of Quinta das Lágrimas won his seventh title in the "Mid-Amateur" category in the "Pitch & Putt" variety, with a six-stroke advantage over Arnaldo Paredes, who was second in "Mid-Amateur" and also became Champion in Seniors.

The National Mid-Amateur and Seniors Championship in the "Pitch & Putt" form were held at Cantanhede Golf Club. This 9-hole PAR 3 course, which opened in 2009, welcomed the 26 competitors in this competition (22 of which Seniors - players with at least 50 years of age by the end of that year, category which included the only lady who entered the competition, Marta Fragoso, from Lisbon Sports Club).

Hugo Espírito Santo, the national number one and nine-time Absolute National Champion of the variety, was the leading favorite and did not leave his credits in the hands of others, imposing himself in a competition dominated by Quinta das Lágrimas players.

Hugo Espírito Santo of Quinta das Lágrimas was leading after the second round with a total of 98 strokes (-10), six strokes ahead of his club partners Luís Azenha Bonito and Arnaldo Paredes. The Formation of Honor for the third round was made up of these three players, who began the course on hole 1.

Hugo Espírito Santo strengthened his lead on the final lap with a card of 52 strokes (two under par). Arnaldo Paredes achieved the same outcome as Luís Bonito, distinguishing himself in a duel that earned the Coimbra lawyer the titles of Vice-Champion in Mid-Amateur and Champion in Seniors, a category in which Luís Bonito finished second.

Hugo Espírito Santo's next ambition is to "win again the National Absolute Championship of the variation," which will be held this year at CNFJ do Jamor on April 30th and May 1st.

Titles:
National Mid-Amateur Champion (“Gross”) – Hugo Espírito Santo (Quinta das Lágrimas), 150 strokes (48+50+52, -12)

National Vice-Champion Mid-Amateur (“Gross”) – Arnaldo Paredes (Quinta das Lágrimas), 156 strokes (51+53+52, -6)

Senior National Champion (“Gross”) – Arnaldo Paredes (Quinta das Lágrimas), 156 strokes (51+53+52, -6)

National Senior Vice-champion (“Gross”) – Luís Azenha Bonito (Quinta das Lágrimas), 158 strokes (53+51+54, -4)

Winner Mid-Amateur “Net” – Miguel Reis Pereira (Cantanhede), 162 strokes (53+55+54, PAR)

Winner Senior “Net” – Angelino Ferreira Lucas (Cantanhede), 164 strokes (52+54+58, +2)

Feel the sand under your feet breathe the salty ocean breeze and let your mind drift away, until your next tee time!

Eurotel Altura is the ideal place to stay for family vacations, romantic getaways, and get-togethers with friends on golf breaks, thanks to its prime location right on the beach and stunning views of Alagoa Beach from every room and suite.

This hotel is located in Altura (58km from Faro Airport), right in front of Alagoa beach. It has a pool, a fitness center, a tennis court, a spa (includes a hydrotherapy area and a Turkish bath), and many activities for everyone. You can’t get bored in Eurotel Altura and you’ll have the most relaxing holidays of your life.

Where to play golf:

Eurotel Altura has many golf courses nearby, some of them are within 10 minutes of distance, like Benamor, Quinta da Ria and Monte Rei golf courses. You’ll be able to play golf while admiring some of the most amazing views in this unspoiled Algarve region.

What to visit:

Take advantage of your holidays to explore the Portuguese heritage that this region has to offer. Check out the great beaches nearby, visit the historic towns nearby like Castro Marim and Vila Real de Santo António, the border between Portugal and Spain and the amazing views it offers. For those who enjoy a vibrant nightlife, visit the nearest casino: Monte Gordo Casino.

What to eat:

Altura has a strong presence of traditional Portuguese cuisine like every other small town in the region, so it’s the perfect place for you to taste Portuguese food. Near the hotel there are a lot of Portuguese traditional restaurants, like A Chaminé. All of these restaurants are specialists in regional wonders like Caldeirada and Cataplana.

Link: https://www.teetimes.pt/eurotel-altura-golf-holidays/

Arnaus won his first title in a thrilling play-off on home turf

Adri Arnaus won his first DP World Tour victory in spectacular fashion, defeating Oliver Bekker in a six-hole play-off at the 2022 Catalunya Championship.

The local favorite began the day seven strokes off the lead and did not appear to be a potential winner when he scored 34, with Bekker and Laurie Canter battling at the top of the leaderboard at PGA Catalunya Stadium Golf and Wellness.

But he finished in 31 with the help of an eagle on the 12th to set the aim at 11 under and was left to watch Bekker finish his round, who still had a one-shot lead as Arnaus was signing his card.

Arnaus was on his way to his third DP World Tour play-off in seven months after defeats at the 2021 Acciona Open de España sponsored by Madrid and the March MyGolfLife Open hosted by Pecanwood.

The five trips back up the last produced relatively stress-free pars all around, but when they advanced to the 17th for the sixth extra hole, Bekker missed the green and was unable to get up and down, allowing Arnaus to win with a par after putting his approach to six feet.

Canter finished two shots behind fellow Englishman Richard McEvoy and Pole Adrian Meronk in the play-off, with South African Hennie du Plessis and Italy's Edoardo Molinari at eight under.

Arnaus had five runner-up finishes on Tour, two of them on home soil, but now has a win in his 84th start and makes it back-to-back Spanish victories for the first time since 2017 following Pablo Larrazábal's triumph at last week's ISPS Handa Championship in Spain.

He also advances to sixth on the DP World Tour Rankings in Partnership with Rolex and has the potential to break into the top 50 of the Official World Golf Ranking for the first time.

"It's like a dream come true," he exclaimed. "I've been seeking for this one for quite some time. It's great to be able to come through here, where I practice in the summers, since they take such good care of me. I'm very familiar with the course. I've been able to play some very excellent golf, and it's extra special to be able to do so here.

"Sometimes I cheer for them (the crowd), and sometimes they applaud for me. It's a victory that we all enjoy because I'm not sure I'd be standing here without them, without my team. That is a goal of mine (getting inside the top 50). This year, we established a goal for ourselves. I feel like I belong there, and I'm excited to advance."

Canter birdied the first from ten feet and the second from twelve, but Bekker maintained his lead with a 15-footer of his own.

Canter's lead appeared to be extended when he found problems off the tee on the third, but he somehow holed it from 196 yards with his third for an eagle and a one-shot lead.

The local favorite Arnaus set the target with a par-par finish, and Canter joined him at 11 under with a birdie from 12 feet on the 14th and a two-putt gain on the following.

Bekker three-putted the 16th to make it a three-way tie, but held his composure to advance to the play-off, while Canter carded a 72 after a bad tee shot resulted in a double-bogey on the 17th.

McEvoy got a 69 after four holes from the 12th, while Meronk shot a 70 with no blemishes.

Du Plessis shot the lowest round of the week, a 64, and Molinari scored a level-par 72 to lead Austrian Bernd Wiesberger by a shot and two clear of Dutchman Wil Besseling, Kiwi Ryan Fox, Italian Lorenzo Gagli, and Finn Tapio Pulkkanen.

PGA Catalunya is 20 km away from Girona, 7 km away from Girona Airport, and 1 hour away from Barcelona Airport and the city of Barcelona. It includes the five-star Camiral Hotel and the two golf courses PGA Stadium and PGA Tour. Catalunya Championship was played on the PGA Stadium golf course.

The province of Malaga maintains its competitiveness in air connectivity from Germany with respect to its competitor destinations in the period '19-'21.

Costa del Sol Tourism is going to activate a powerful set of actions to boost the arrival of tourists from Germany and Central Europe. This was made clear by the president of the Council of Costa del Sol Tourism Malaga and Costa del Sol Tourism, Francisco Salado, at a press conference in which he also took stock of the current tourism situation and the uncertainty generated by the war in Ukraine.

Francisco Salado gave details about the German market, "one of our priority markets and one of the best performing in 2021", coinciding with a new edition of the ITB which, due to the pandemic, is being held for the second consecutive year virtually. "And we are doing so at a time of tremendous uncertainty due to the consequences that the invasion of Ukraine may have on the tourism sector," said Salado.

The president of Costa del Sol Tourism has roundly and firmly condemned the invasion of Ukraine "which is an outrage to human rights, freedom and democracy".

The president pointed out that "as consequences that we can take for granted, obviously in the short and medium term all the tourist destinations around us and our competitors have lost the Russian market, which as I explained last week represents about 14,000 tourists a year on the Costa del Sol. It also seems clear that there will be other destinations that will suffer a greater impact from this war on international tourist arrivals.

In this sense, Turismo Costa del Sol estimates that international flows, especially to Turkey, but also to other countries geographically close to the conflict zone, will be much more affected than arrivals to Spain. There could even be a situation of reformulation in the planning of destinations for certain tour operators and airlines, which could harm Turkish destinations and benefit Spanish ones.

"It is a possible and predictable scenario, but there are still too many uncertainties. In short, this war is not good for anyone, it is an outrage and puts Europe and global stability at risk. But at the same time we are confident that the Costa del Sol will once again become a safe haven, a safe destination. And we are convinced that many tourists will see it that way," said the president of Costa del Sol Tourism.

In 2021, 353,425 German passengers arrived at Malaga Airport, which was 88% more than those arriving in 2020 but 55% less than in 2019. They represent 77% of those arriving in Andalusia. The main sending cities in the last year have been Frankfurt, Düsseldorf, Berlin, Munich and Hamburg.

Turismo Costa del Sol has also carried out a study of the competitiveness in air connectivity of our main nine competing destinations in Spain. The golf destinations analysed are the Balearic Islands, Las Palmas, Barcelona, Madrid, Tenerife, Alicante, Valencia, Lanzarote, Seville and Malaga.

As we have already been telling you, Turismo Costa del Sol is not satisfied with just a quantitative analysis, but has carried out an in-depth qualitative study in order to implement actions with much more precision.

The president of Costa del Sol Tourism concluded by saying that "we will implement comarketing actions, tourist presentations to operators at source, promotional actions with intermediaries that generate prizes with a stay on the Costa del Sol and we will design actions to promote teleworking on the Costa del Sol".