“It is always a special moment to play the Portuguese Open, at home, with our family, friends, and the Portuguese public supporting us, and in the company of many other Portuguese players. I am very happy to be playing in the Portuguese Open”, Figueiredo told Lusa.
After a reduced contingent in 2023, with seven Portuguese golfers, the Portuguese Golf Federation (FPG) has once again found the conditions to enable an increase in the number of Portuguese participants in the 2024 field, made up of a total of 156 golfers, including seven from the top 10 of the Challenge Tour rankings, the ‘Road to Mallorca’.
“In 2023, we had to ‘sell’ many professional places to cope with the reduction in financial support planned for that edition. This year, we have already managed to return to normal and were able to make the usual places available, both to professionals and amateurs, thus bringing together a significant Portuguese contingent, led by Pedro Figueiredo”, explained the president of the FPG, Miguel Franco de Sousa, to Lusa.
Pedro Figueiredo, aged 32, is joined by professionals Tomás Melo Gouveia and Ricardo Santos, both members of the Challenge Tour, Pedro Lencart, Pedro Almeida, Vítor Lopes, Hugo Camelo Ferreira, Vasco Alves, Alexandre Abreu and Tomás Bessa, and amateurs José Miguel Franco de Sousa, Afonso Oliveira, Diogo Rocha, João Pereira and Miguel Cardoso.
“We believe we can have players who will have a good Portuguese Open, but it is always wise to avoid setting specific goals. They are all very well prepared, with intense competitive seasons, so the dice are cast”, argues Miguel Franco de Sousa.
As for Figueiredo, despite not having the best season on the European Circuit, having only made four cuts in 16 tournaments played, he says that his game “is very close to being fine-tuned and achieving good results.”
“It hasn’t been an easy season in terms of the calendar, because I haven’t been entering many DP World Tour tournaments, due to my low qualifying category. Then, my game hasn’t been up to my abilities for much of the season. On the other hand, in Denmark, I finished fifth, my first ‘top 5’ on the DP World Tour. That week, all areas of my game aligned and I had a great result”, he stressed.
In addition to his confidence levels having increased thanks to his performance at the Danish Open, after four rounds under par, the golfer from Azeitão hopes to “repeat something similar in the near future”.
“Because there I can prove that my game is good enough to fight for a victory at the highest level”, added Pedro Figueiredo, one of the most highly rated Portuguese golfers playing this week on the course designed by Spaniard Seve Ballesteros, the venue for the Portuguese Open since 2020.