Back in 2010, `Rain, Rain Beautiful Rain’ was a song rendered by the Ladysmith Black Mambazo group at the FIFA World Cup closing ceremony. However, only local farmers would have appreciated the deluges in the Algarve during the eighth annual Portugal Masters played at the Oceânico Victoria course where it takes place every October. Ominous forecasts of precipitation, at times developing into thunderstorms, were made at the beginning of the week although very often these spells do not last long and give way to long warm, sunny spells – however not this time. On Wednesday, which was mainly dry and sunny, the Pro-Am competition featured 40 teams comprising a professional and three invited guest players,
whilst the remaining pros practised for the main event scheduled to run from Thursday to Sunday. The Pro-Am was won by an Oceânico threesome and Thongchai Jaidee with a score of 55 strokes net, followed by teams led by Bernd Wiesberger and Jeev Milka Singh in 2nd and 3rd places respectively. The evening prize-giving took place overlooking the golf course at the Tivoli Hotel prior to the foreboding weather. The low-lying land on which the course was built has a relatively high water table but any rainwater that accumulates normally drains into the various lakes or evaporates in the ensuing sunny weather. At the 2014 Portugal Masters, however, several thundery showers and a few lightning warnings occurred, interspersed with sunny spells during which some play was possible due to the valiant course maintenance staff who tried their hardest, again and again, to squeegee the greens and clear flooded bunkers for the next temporary period of play. Eventually, about midday on Saturday, the European Tour officials announced that the event would be cut to 54 holes with the 67 golfers who made the 36-hole `cut’ playing the final round on Sunday. The initial weather looked promising and at 9:00 a.m. the first of the 67 players teed off but at about one o’clock the rains returned after only four contestants had completed a full third round and the leaders, Felipe Aguilar, Nicolas Colsaerts and Alexander Levy had played just one hole. Organisers had no choice but to base the final results on the first two complete rounds played. As Tournament Director José Maria Zamora announced: “Over the course of the week we had 75mm of rain, and 12mm this afternoon, and unfortunately we had to curtail the tournament after 36 holes, despite the tireless work of the green-keeping staff.”
The 24-year-old Frenchman Levy was therefore declared the winner with an excellent score of 124 strokes (63+61), the second triumph of his brief career and the year after winning the Volvo China Open in April but, as per the rules, his prize-money was reduced to e250,000, pushing his year-to-date total to just over the e1 million mark. Long-hitting Colsaerts, known as the Belgian `bomber’, had an even better score of 60 in the first round, leaving his putt on the edge of the hole for what would have been the first magical 59 in European PGA Tour history. The validity of this record would however have been debatable since placing of the ball on fairways was allowed due to the soggy conditions. This round of 60 strokes by Colsaerts was the 18th on the main European Tour, and he added a second round of 67 to secure the runner-up spot. Although eventually missing the `cut’, two-time U.S. Masters winner and memorable 2012 Ryder Cup captain, 48-yearold José Maria Olazábal, had one of the most notable shots of the event in the opening round: a brilliant hole-in-one at the par-three 13th, only the fourth hole he played. This feat was almost repeated by the Alexander Levy on the same hole of his second round, leaving his shot a mere 40 cm from the flag. There were mixed results for the Portuguese contingent who qualified or were invited to play. The country’s best known and most successful pro, Ricardo Santos, once more unfortunately came a cropper at the fateful, lake-lined 18th and scored a double-bogey when he required a bogey at worst to pass the `cut’ of 139. Most successful among the home players was Challenge Tour player Pedro Figueiredo, who scored 6-under-par 136 (67+69).
Another who turned pro recently and won the Challenge Tour’s EMC Golf Challenge Open in Rome the previous week, Ricardo Melo Gouveia, had a tally of 139 (70+69) and also passed the `cut’. Luckily, the weather eased late by Sunday afternoon and, witnessed by a respectable number of spectators, the Portugal Masters trophy was presented on the 18th green to the young Frenchman, Levy. In his acceptance speech, the ever-smiling Levy could hardly contain his happiness, stating that he loves golf and mentioning that he had hit numerous perfect shots on this his debut appearance at the Portugal Masters. He also added that his goal is to make the Ryder Cup team, especially for 2018 when it is to be staged near the French capital. An admirable total of about 17,000 was raised during this event for the official charity, Make-a-Wish, including the participation fees granted to the pros who played in the pro-am. The many sponsors’ displays were also well attended during the event and which will hopefully be played in more typical Algarve sunshine at Oceanico Victoria in 2015. For the moment, though, it’s congratulations to the latest winner, Alexander Levy.
MASTERS 2014
TEXT JOHN RUSSELL PHOTOS GETTY IMAGES AND BIRCH PHOTOGRAPHY