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The Open de Portugal Returns to PGA Aroeira Lisboa

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After nearly thirty years away, one of European golf’s most storied tournaments comes home to the Wentworth of Lisbon

This September, the pine forests south of Lisbon will host professional golf again. The 64th Open de Portugal takes place at PGA Aroeira No.1 from 17 to 20 September 2026, marking the return of tournament golf to a course that has been part of the game’s fabric in Portugal for over half a century. The event is part of the HotelPlanner Tour and carries a prize fund of €300,000, with 156 players competing over four days. (HotelPlanner Tour)

Open de Portugal Returns to Aroeira

A Tournament Older Than the European Tour Itself

The Open de Portugal has been running since 1953 — nearly two decades before the European Tour existed. When the Tour launched its inaugural calendar in 1972, this was one of the events on it. That kind of longevity is rare in professional golf, and it places the tournament in company that very few events on the current schedule can claim. For the Portuguese Golf Federation, this is one of the centrepiece moments of the national golfing calendar.

The Course and Its Reputation

PGA Aroeira No.1 opened in 1972, the work of architect Frank Pennink, and was quickly given the nickname ‘the Wentworth of Lisbon’ by visiting players. The comparison was always a compliment with range — the course measures 6,122 metres over a traditional par 72 layout, winding through dense pine forest, and precision rather than power is the dominant theme, with tall trees doing the work that fairway bunkers do elsewhere. It is a course that rewards patience and punishes optimism.

Aroeira Fairway and Green

In 1996 and 1997, the course hosted the European Tour’s Portuguese Open — and the 2026 return closes a gap of nearly three decades. Portugal’s only PGA National, PGA Aroeira has recently emerged from a period of significant renovation, with new tees, reshaped bunkers, and cleared woodland between fairways opening up the layout and showing the course at its best. The resort was also named Europe’s Best Eco-Friendly Golf Facility 2025 at the World Golf Awards — recognition that the work done here goes beyond the scorecard.

What Brings 156 Professionals to Lisbon

The Open de Portugal is a Road to Mallorca event, awarding 2,000 points in the rankings that determine which players graduate to the DP World Tour at the season’s end. For many in the field, September at Aroeira will be one of the defining weeks of their year. The HotelPlanner Tour has been a reliable launching pad — recent winners at Royal Óbidos and other Portuguese venues have gone on to establish themselves at the highest level.

Aroeira Tee Lined Fairway

September at Aroeira

The conditions in mid-September around Lisbon are, frankly, excellent for golf. The resort sits within a protected pine forest on the Setúbal Peninsula, about 30 minutes from central Lisbon, with the Atlantic close enough to keep temperatures civilised. When the professionals leave, the course will be in tournament shape — and open for the rest of us.

PGA Aroeira No.1 is part of the Tee Times Lisbon Portfolio portfolio. If you would like to play the same course that hosts the 64th Open de Portugal, we can book your round.

Challenge de España Returns — This Time, Isla Canela Takes Centre Stage

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A Ryder Cup veteran, a five-time Major champion’s ghost, and Spain’s hottest young talent — the 27th edition has a field worth watching.

The Challenge de España arrives at Isla Canela Golf Links in Huelva this week, 28–31 May. It is the HotelPlanner Tour’s first official event at the venue. With a prize fund of €300,000 and DP World Tour cards on the line, the stakes are higher than the scenery — and the scenery is already remarkable. (HotelPlanner Tour)

A links test with serious teeth

Isla Canela Golf Links sits between natural marshlands and the Atlantic Ocean, with views across the Guadiana River towards the Portuguese Algarve. It is one of the few genuine links-style layouts on the 2026 Road to Mallorca schedule.

Spain Canelas Links Course

The course is flat — but do not mistake flat for forgiving. Strong winds and undulating greens are the real examiners here. Creativity, patience and adaptability will separate the contenders from the also-rans.

Experience meets ambition in the field

The 2026 field is a study in contrasts. On one side: seasoned DP World Tour winners chasing a route back to the elite. On the other: a generation of young Europeans who have not read the memo about waiting their turn.

Chris Woods 3 DP World Titles

Chris Wood arrives with three DP World Tour titles, a Ryder Cup appearance in 2016 and a career ranking of world number 22. His compatriot David Horsey has four European Tour victories to his name. Alejandro Cañizares, Julien Quesne, Tom Lewis, Justin Harding and Steven Brown complete a core of players who know exactly what is at stake — because they have been there before. (MyGolfWay)

Pablo Ereño Challenge de Catalunya

Facing them: Pablo Ereño, fresh from winning the Challenge de Catalunya two weeks ago and currently sitting second on the Road to Mallorca standings. South African Wilco Nienaber, the powerful MJ Viljoen, and emerging talents Tiger Christensen, Anders Emil Ejlersen and Frank Kennedy are also in the mix.

Joel Moscatel adds a further local subplot. The Spaniard won this very tournament at Real Club Sevilla Golf in 2024 and arrives at Isla Canela with unfinished business.

Spain’s golfing generation is making noise

The Challenge de España is backed by the Royal Spanish Golf Federation, the Government of Andalusia, the Royal Andalusian Golf Federation and the Spanish Sports Council. It is a serious investment in the next generation of European professional golf.

RFEG Vice President Jaime Salaverri put it plainly:

“The level on the HotelPlanner Tour keeps getting higher, and the Challenge de España has established itself as a tournament that prepares players for the leap to the DP World Tour.”

Ereño’s recent win was cited as exactly that kind of evidence. (TenGolf)

 The DP World Tour cards are very much up for grabs

The top 15 players on the Road to Mallorca at season’s end earn DP World Tour cards. The standings entering this week are as tight as they have been all season. A single strong performance can move a player several places in either direction.

DPT World Tour Logo Stars

For the veterans in the field, this is a chance to reclaim status they know well. For Ereño and the younger contingent, it is the next step on a journey that is very much in progress.

Somewhere in this field, a career is about to change direction. That is what the HotelPlanner Tour does — and why this week at Isla Canela matters.

And if golf in southern Spain sounds like your kind of week, you do not have to watch from a screen. Browse our Costa de la Luz golf courses and put yourself in the picture. Or, the Algarve sits just across the river — close enough to see from the Spanish fairways and just as easy to book with Tee Times.

Golf in the Western Algarve: Why the Other Half of the Coast Deserves Your Attention

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From Lagos to Carvoeiro, the courses west of the Golden Triangle are quieter, more varied, and consistently underestimated.

Most golfers booking a trip to the Algarve set their coordinates for the same stretch of coastline — Vilamoura, Quinta do Lago, Vale do Lobo. And it cannot be denied that these courses stand on their own as World-Class golf courses. The western half of the coast, however, runs its own game entirely, and has been doing so for a long time. And these courses deserve your attention.

Western Algarve Lagos

Lagos

Three courses sit in and around Lagos, each distinct enough to fill a week without repetition. Palmares is the most prominent — 27 holes redesigned by Robert Trent Jones Jr., combining parkland terrain with genuine links-style holes along the Meia Praia shoreline. The views across the Bay of Lagos from the upper sections are among the best you will find on any course in the country.

Designed by Howard Swan, the Boavista course does not receive the attention it deserves. Its two distinct sections climb to the highest point of the resort, before descending through landscaped valleys and water features to the clubhouse. The par-4 seventh, played against a backdrop of Atlantic and the Monchique hills, is worth the round on its own.

Espiche, the newest of the three, takes a softer approach — an undulating layout that works with the natural terrain rather than against it, and one that consistently rewards precision over power.

Palmares Golf Course, Lagos — 27-hole links-style layout with views over the Bay of Lagos, Western Algarve Boavista Golf Course, Lagos — Howard Swan design with Atlantic and Monchique hill views, Western Algarve Espiche Golf Course, Lagos — undulating layout set within the natural terrain of the Western Algarve
Portimão

Morgado presents the most generous setting in the area — a Seve Ballesteros design spread across a vast estate north of the city, with wide fairways, six par threes, and conditions that hold up impressively through the season. The scale of the property gives the round a sense of occasion that is difficult to find elsewhere in the western Algarve. Its neighbour, Álamos, is a par-71 layout with undulating fairways, well-placed bunkers, and steeply sloping greens that make the short game decisive. Views across the Monchique mountains and surrounding farmland make it worth seeking out, particularly for those spending longer in the area.

Penina needs no introduction to anyone who has followed golf in Portugal for more than five minutes. Sir Henry Cotton’s 1966 design — built on converted rice paddies — is the oldest course in the Algarve and hosted the Portuguese Open six times. It remains a flat, strategically demanding test that rewards course management over distance. The resort facilities are extensive. This is a base, not just a tee time.

Alto Golf offers a different proposition — elevated tees, sea views, and a layout that grows more demanding as the round develops. The par-5 sixteenth, with its substantial lake, has ended more than a few good cards.

Morgado Golf Course, Portimão — Seve Ballesteros design, Western Algarve Penina Championship Golf Course, Portimão — oldest course in the Algarve, designed by Sir Henry Cotton Alto Golf Course, Portimão — elevated tees and sea views, Western Algarve
Carvoeiro

Vale da Pinta and its neighbour Gramacho form a natural two-course combination around Carvoeiro. Vale da Pinta is the more celebrated of the two — ancient olive trees, uneven lies, and an atmosphere that feels older than the game itself. Gramacho is the more accessible partner, redesigned from nine holes to eighteen, with almonds, olives, and carobs providing the backdrop.

Silves Golf, a few kilometres inland, adds a third option — orchards and farmland framing a layout that is gentler in character but no less enjoyable for it.

Vale da Pinta Golf Course, Carvoeiro — ancient olive trees and undulating fairways, Western Algarve Gramacho Golf Course, Carvoeiro — almond and olive tree backdrop, Western Algarve Silves Golf Course — orchards and farmland setting inland from Carvoeiro, Western Algarve
Worth Knowing

Faro Airport is around an hour from Lagos — a manageable drive either way, and one that is easily sorted with a pre-booked transfer. The western Algarve is quieter than its eastern counterpart, particularly outside the summer months, which makes it a better choice for golfers who prefer an unhurried pace on and off the course. Lagos and Portimão both have proper food scenes — seafood that takes itself seriously, restaurants that fill up for the right reasons.

East, Central or West, whatever your choice, browse our full selection of Algarve golf courses or explore golf holidays in the Algarve to start planning an unforgettable trip.