The European Tour returns to home soil this week for the Estoril Open de Portugal Caixa Geral de Depositos, the first event of the 2005 International Schedule to be staged in Europe after highly successful trips to Asia, Africa, Australasia, the United States and The Gulf.
The Estoril Open de Portugal Caixa Geral de Depositos is one of The European Tour’s longest running National Opens with an association dating back to 1953 and will be played at a new venue this season – the outstanding Oitavos Golfe, Quinta da Marinha, Portugal, which has hosted both the European Challenge Tour and the European Seniors Tour in the past two seasons.
The Challenge Tour visited Oitavos Golfe last October, when England’s Tom Whitehouse secured his maiden Challenge Tour victory on the testing terrain that sits directly on the west coast of Portugal in the the Sintra-Cascais National Park.
When the Seniors Tour contested the 2003 Seniors Tour Championship at Oitavos Golfe, Englishman Carl Mason took the victory he required to win the Seniors Tour Order of Merit in his rookie year on the circuit – a title he retained in 2004.
Having hosted both the Challenge Tour and the Seniors Tour, Oitavos Golfe is now prepared to welcome some of Europe’s big names for The Tour’s inaugural visit.
Four of this season's tournament winners are in the field, Stephen Dodd of Wales, Nick Dougherty of England, Sweden's Niclas Fasth and South African Charl Schwartzel. All but Fasth have made their big breaks by winning their maiden titles on The European Toour International Schedule.
Scotland’s Sam Torrance is one of golf’s most popular and enduring figures and will be in Portugal to see if he can add a third Portuguese Open title to his 21 European Tour titles, having won consecutive Portuguese Opens in 1982 and 1983.
The former Ryder Cup Captain is one of six past champions in the field, the others being Mike McLean (1990), David Gilford (1993), Michael Jonzon (1997), Van Phillips (1999) and Gary Orr (2000).
Three PGA Champions, including 2004 winner, Scott Drummond of Scotland, will pay in Estoril. Drummond has enjoyed a meteoric rise through the golfing ranks in the last ten months after capturing the 2004 PGA Championship, and he will be looking to recapture that form as he looks forward to defend his title at the BMW Championship at Wentworth Club in May.
Lining up alongside the Scot are 2001 and 2003 PGA Champions, Scotland's Andrew Oldcorn and Spain's Ignacio Garrido.
Paul Lawrie, meanwhile, needs no introduction as a former Open Champion. The 36 year old will always be remembered for his unforgettable Open Championship victory at Carnoustie in 1999, when he came from ten strokes behind on the final day to win a play-off for the Claret Jug.
Home hopes will undoubtedly focus on Portugal's own Jose-Filipe Lima, who changed Nationalities from French to Portuguese last season after winning the Challenge Tour's Segura Viudas Challenge de España, and then the dual ranking Aa St Omer Open in consecutive weeks.
Lima opted to follow the nationality of his Portuguese mother and, in the process, changed his christian name from the French Phillipe to the Portuguese Jose-Felipe.
