Bernhard Langer

The Tournament That Discovered Sergio García Returns to Valencia This Week

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Before the Majors, They Play El Saler

Every July, the future of European golf assembles on the Mediterranean coast south of Valencia, and few people outside junior golf circles notice. This week is no exception. The European Young Masters 2026 begins today at Parador de El Saler, bringing together 120 of the continent’s best under-16 golfers from 33 countries, competing individually and in the Nations’ Cup team format. It is a small event by spectator standards. It is not a small event by any other measure.

A Roll Call Worth Knowing

120 of the continent's best under-16 golfers from 33 countries
The names attached to this tournament’s history explain why it matters. The first European Young Masters was held in 1995, and its inaugural boys’ champion was Sergio García. Since then the boys’ and girls’ titles have passed through the hands of Rory McIlroy, Viktor Hovland, Jon Rahm, Carlota Ciganda, Suzann Pettersen, Georgia Hall, and Matt Fitzpatrick, among others. Whoever lifts the trophy this weekend joins that list. Nobody watching will know yet whether they belong on it. (Polski Związek Golfa)

The Course Doing the Testing

El Saler is not a gentle proving ground. Built in 1968 by Javier Arana, widely regarded as the defining architect of Spanish golf, the course sits inside the El Saler Natural Park on the Mediterranean shore, its front nine running through beach-links terrain reminiscent of Scotland and its back nine turning inland through pine forest.

120 of the continent's best under-16 golfers from 33 countries

Bernhard Langer holds the course record. Professionals, amateurs, institutions, and the specialised press have long ranked El Saler among the finest course layouts anywhere. (European Golf Association) Golfers wanting to walk the same links can do so at El Saler Golf Course, with the on-site Parador de El Saler putting rooms a short walk from the first tee.

A Nations’ Cup With Real Stakes

Alongside individual medals, the tournament runs a Nations’ Cup: each country’s three best daily scores from its four representatives are combined, and the lowest total after three rounds of stroke play wins. Spain won that inaugural Nations’ Cup in 1995 and has claimed it more times than any other country since — a small but pointed detail for a tournament staged on home Valencian soil.

European Young Masters 2026

Junior tournaments rarely make headlines, and that is precisely why they reward attention. Somewhere in this week’s field at El Saler is very possibly a name that will be familiar within a decade. Golfers keen to test the same coastline for themselves can browse Costa Blanca golf holidays and see what drew Arana, Langer, and now Europe’s best juniors to this stretch of Mediterranean links.


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Portugal Invitational 2026: Make a Week of It in the Algarve

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The tournament is five weeks away. The field is confirmed. The Algarve is warm. Here is why all three of these things should matter to you.

2026 Portugal Invitational - Algarve, Porugal
Pádraig Harrington won the Portugal Masters at The Els Club Vilamoura in 2016. On 31 July, he returns to that same course for the inaugural Portugal Invitational — the first PGA TOUR Champions event ever staged in Europe — alongside Bernhard Langer, José María Olazábal, Ernie Els, and a 78-player field with more major titles between them than most tours produce in a decade. Five weeks away. Accommodation in the Vilamoura golf holiday packages in late July does not linger. This is the moment to make a decision.

These Are Not Exhibition Golfers

It would be easy to mistake a senior circuit event for a celebration of the past rather than a contest in the present. Dismiss that thought. Bernhard Langer — approaching his 69th birthday — holds 47 PGA TOUR Champions wins and six Charles Schwab Cups. Harrington has claimed two U.S. Senior Open titles since turning 50 and remains a genuine contender at every major on the calendar. Olazábal, a two-time Masters champion, is competing on his home continent for the first time at this level. Colin Montgomerie, Retief Goosen, and David Duval are all here to win. The $3 million prize purse — one of the largest on the PGA TOUR Champions schedule — has a way of concentrating minds. Harrington will know every slope of The Els Club Vilamoura. That is not a small advantage.

Aerial view of The Els Club Vilamoura, host venue for the inaugural 2026 Portugal Invitational

What Tournament Week Actually Looks Like

The competition runs from 31 July to 2 August, with the Pro-Am taking place in the days beforehand. Pro-Am packages are available for those who would rather play alongside a PGA TOUR Champions legend than simply watch one — a round at The Els Club Vilamoura in that company is a golf story worth telling. All three rounds are broadcast live on Golf Channel, across 170 countries, but if you are standing on the course rather than watching from a sofa, you will see Harrington walk fairways he already knows, and Langer add another chapter to a career that declines to reach a final paragraph. The Els Club has the 261 Tap Room on site. The marina restaurants are a short drive. The dourada was in the Atlantic that morning.

Vilamoura marina on a summer evening, Algarve, with waterfront restaurants and moored yachts

The Algarve Does Not Begin and End in Vilamoura

Tournament week is the anchor. The Algarve is the destination. Quinta do Lago and Vale do Lobo are within easy reach — which have been benchmarks for European resort golf for thirty years. Further west, Palmares plays along the cliffs above Meia Praia beach, with the Atlantic visible on almost every hole. The coastline between Vilamoura and Lagos contains some of the finest golf in Portugal. Build the trip around the tournament and there is no shortage of material to fill the days either side.

clifftop fairways of Palmares Golf Course above Meia Praia beach, Algarve

The Portugal Invitational is a five-year commitment — it will return in 2027. But the inaugural edition only happens once. There will be a first winner, a first-round leader, a first eagle at The Els Club Vilamoura under tournament conditions. With Harrington and Langer in the field, a Sunday finish to remember is well within the range of probabilities.

The Algarve has been ready for this for some time. So, with any luck, are you.

Browse our Algarve golf holidays and start building the trip around the Portugal Invitational.


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Portugal Invitational 2026: PGA Tour Champions Makes History in Vilamoura

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The PGA Tour Champions is coming to Portugal. From 31 July to 2 August 2026, The Els Club Vilamoura hosts the Portugal Invitational — the first PGA Tour-sanctioned individual stroke play event on Portuguese soil, and the first PGA Tour Champions event staged anywhere in Europe.

Portugal Invitational 2026

A natural milestone for a region that has spent decades building one of the continent’s most compelling golf destinations.

What the Portugal Invitational Actually Is

The PGA Tour Champions is the professional circuit for golfers aged 50 and over — populated by Major winners and some of the most recognisable names in the modern game.

The Portugal Invitational carries a $3 million purse and a field of 78 players drawn from PGA Tour Champions members, World Golf Hall of Fame inductees, and Legends Tour players. It sits within a three-week European swing alongside the ISPS Handa Senior Open and the Staysure PGA Seniors Championship. (PGA Tour Champions official announcement)

The Field: A Who’s Who of Senior Golf

Bernhard Langer — holder of 47 PGA Tour Champions wins and six Charles Schwab Cups — heads a field that also includes three-time Major champion Pádraig Harrington, two-time Masters champion José María Olazábal, host Ernie Els, and Colin Montgomerie.

Retief Goosen, David Duval, Thomas Bjørn, and Ángel Cabrera are also confirmed. A Pro-Am is part of the week, giving amateur participants direct access to players of this calibre. (Golf Circus)

The Els Club Vilamoura: The Course at the Centre of It All

Els Club Vilamoura Portugal Invitational 2026

The Els Club occupies the former site of the Victoria Golf Course — an Arnold Palmer design that hosted the DP World Tour’s Portugal Masters from 2007 to 2022, producing winners including Shane Lowry and Pádraig Harrington.

Redesigned by Ernie Els, one nine retains its original routing while the other is an entirely new layout. The result is the fifth Els Club in the world and the first in Europe. (Golfweek via Yahoo Sports)

Why Vilamoura Was Always Going to Host Something Like This

Vilamoura is consistently ranked among the finest golf resorts in Continental Europe. Five golf courses, premium accommodation — including the recently arrived Hyatt Regency — and a food scene that takes itself seriously.

Vilamoura Marina View
Faro Airport sits 25 minutes away, with direct routes to 89 airports across 20 countries. Transfers and car hire are easily arranged. The tournament is backed by a five-year partnership between PGA Tour Champions, Arrow Global Group, Turismo de Portugal and Turismo do Algarve — this is not a one-off. (Portugal Invitational)

Planning Around the Portugal Invitational

Tournament week runs 27 July to 2 August, with the 54-hole competition concluding on 2 August. Spectator access and ticketing details will be confirmed closer to the event.

Whether the plan is to watch the professionals and then play the same course, or simply use the tournament as the nudge to finally book that Algarve golf holiday, the summer of 2026 has handed you a rather good excuse.