Ten elite Portuguese golfers join 150 international players competing for $100,000
– December 2, 2025 | Photos Carlos Alves Sousa/UPP
Ten of Portugal’s top golfers will join 150 players from 30 countries at the first edition of the Rolear Algarve Classic, taking place from December 2 (Tuesday) to December 4 (Thursday) at the O’Connor Jr. Course, one of the two courses at Amendoeira Golf Resort in Silves.
The Portuguese line-up includes Ricardo Santos, Pedro Figueiredo, Tomás Melo Gouveia, Tomás Bessa, Pedro Lencart, Vasco Alves, Ricardo Garcia, Hugo Camelo and Nelson Cavalheiro, all professionals, along with amateur José Miguel Franco de Sousa. This year’s field is even more diverse than the Portuguese Open at Royal Óbidos, part of the Hotel Planner Tour, which is the only other Portuguese event this year offering a higher prize fund than the Rolear Algarve Classic.
The strong international presence reflects a new partnership between the revitalised Mena Golf Tour and Portugal. The Mena Golf Tour, created in 2011 as a professional circuit for North Africa and the Middle East, has undergone various changes, but its new management aims to relaunch it with renewed strength, choosing Portugal to host the opening event of the new season for the first time.
Players this week at Amendoeira Golf Resort will represent countries including France, Italy, England, Scotland, Ireland, Germany, Belgium, Monaco, the Czech Republic, Finland, Sweden, Lithuania, Poland, Spain, Andorra, Switzerland, Russia, Turkey, Mexico, the United States, Canada, Brazil, Australia, Lebanon and the United Arab Emirates, among others.
In recent weeks, Portugal has already staged a Qualifying School at Troia in Grândola and the first event of the 2026 regular season at PGA National Aroeira in Almada. Now the focus shifts to Amendoeira Golf Resort for this three-day tournament, which counts towards the World Golf Rankings. For context, circuits such as the Alps Tour and the Pro Golf Tour, often seen as the third tier of European golf, typically offer around €30,000 in prize money per event.
Recaps from previous tournaments leading to Rolear Algarve Classic
Portugal will have two previous tournament winners in the field this week: England’s Chris Wood, who won in Troia and has previously played in the Ryder Cup for Europe, and Italy’s Ludovico Addabbo, who claimed victory at Aroeira, where Portugal’s Pedro Figueiredo finished as runner-up, three strokes behind.
Meanwhile, the Mena Tour Pro-Am powered by Rolear took place on Monday, December 1, featuring 15 teams. Nelson Cavalheiro was the only Portuguese professional competing. The Pro-Am winner was 25-year-old English player Curtis Knipes, who scored 110 medal net points alongside amateurs Ion Orbu, Marco Paulo Sequeira and Domingos Quádrio.
Second place went to French player Sebastien Gross, together with amateurs Beatrice Gabriel, Jorge Gabriel and Alexander Amey, with a total of 112 points.
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