Algarve hosts eight of nine winter Opens, with €105,000 in prize money, from January to March
– January 7, 2026 | Photo Berto Granja
The PT Golf Tour, Portugal’s international golf circuit for high-performance professionals and leading amateurs, has announced its official calendar for 2026.
The winter series will feature 10 tournaments, including the final – the Optilink Tour Championship – with total prize money of €105,000.
The season opens in Vilamoura with two events in January and comes to a close in March at the two courses of PGA Aroeira Lisboa, near the capital.
Eight of the nine regular Opens will be played in the Algarve, with each tournament offering €10,000 in prizes.
The final event will raise the stakes, increasing the pot to €15,000. At the end of the circuit, a men’s and a women’s No.1 will be crowned.
Official PT Tour 2026 schedule
- Swing 1 – January 2026
- January 5 to 7 – Vilamoura Pinhal Open, prize fund €10,000
- January 10 to 12 – Vilamoura Millennium Open, prize fund €10,000
- Swing 2 – January 2026
- January 18 to 20 – Palmares Golf, prize fund €10,000
- January 23 to 25 – Palmares Golf II, prize fund €10,000
- Swing 3 – February 2026
- February 2 to 4 – NAU Morgado Open, prize fund €10,000
- February 7 to 9 – NAU Álamos Open, prize fund €10,000
- Swing 4 – February 2026
- February 15 to 17 – Palmares Open III, prize fund €10,000
- February 20 to 22 – San Lorenzo Open, prize fund €10,000
- Swing 5 – February and March 2026
- March 1 to 3 – PGA Aroeira Open, prize fund €10,000
- March 6 to 8 – Optilink Tour Championship at PGA Aroeira Lisboa, prize fund €15,000
Promoter and former PGA president José Correia welcomed the announcement, saying: “We are very excited about the 2026 season, with a greater diversity of golf courses, their high quality, new partnerships and a larger number of participants. We aim to provide a good experience and, above all, to give our players opportunities to compete. The partnership with the Portuguese Golf Federation strengthens the sharing of a common objective.”
“This tour is very important for us because it marks the start of the season and gives our top male and female amateur athletes the chance to compete,” explained FPG president Pedro Nunes Pedro. “It is an excellent winter circuit and, for that reason, the Federation continues and will continue to support the PT Tour.”
“Another equally important point is the competition factor, meaning that our best players can compete with the other players who are here, making the most of our excellent weather conditions and the great courses we have. These are players from the main European circuits who are also in their pre-season period. It is an excellent winter circuit and, for that reason, the Portuguese Golf Federation continues and will continue to support the PT Tour,” Pedro Nunes highlighted.
Daniel da Costa Rodrigues, who finished as No.1 on the 2025 Order of Merit, also praised the format. “I highly recommend the PT Tour and it will always be special to me, because that was where I made my debut in professional competition. It gave me the platform to start 2025 in the best possible way and helped me reach where I am today,” said the former national amateur champion.
Since November 2025, he has been competing on the DP World Tour, alongside Ricardo Melo Gouveia, another star of Portuguese golf who has also played frequently on the PT Tour.
“There are some players from the DP World Tour and many from the Challenge Tour,” shared Daniel. “You gain competitive rhythm for the season because there are 10 tournaments in a row with few breaks, and it is an excellent way to start the season.”
Over the years, more than a dozen Portuguese players have won PT Tour events, going head-to-head with golfers of a high competitive level. Looking back at the Optilink Tour Championship, the flagship event of the circuit, Ricardo Santos won in 2022 at the former Victoria course in Vilamoura, Tomás Bessa in 2023 at Laguna in Vilamoura, and Pedro Figueiredo in 2024 at Quinta do Peru in Sesimbra. In 2025, Tomás Melo Gouveia finished in second place at Palmares.
José Correia also highlights this year’s novelty – the new partnership with the Capdeville Consulting Tournament –, where the best-ranked international player on the Order of Merit will receive an invitation to the professional tournament in May 2026. This new event, with one day of Pro-Am and two days for professionals, was launched in 2025 and proved a success, featuring Portugal’s top players.
The PT Tour dates back to the Algarve Winter Tour, created in 2012, which later became the Algarve Pro Golf Tour and the Portugal Pro Golf Tour. Today it continues under the name PT Tour, always under the guidance of promoter José Correia.
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