The Best Golfers come to play the Portugal Masters 2012 on the Algarve

Published on 29th October, 2012

The Portugal Masters is contested every year at the Oceanico Victoria Golf Course on the Algarve. This year it was competed for between the 11th Oct 2012 and the 14th Oct 2012.

The event itself has been staged every year since 2007 and the course is a design classic by one of the masters of golf, Arnold Palmer. The course itself was planned out by Palmer in 2000, and the first golf ball that was struck in fun was some four years later when the course was re-opened to the public who have loved what they have seen ever since.

The Oceanico Victoria Golf Course is one of five courses that occupy the same region of the Algarve and covers an area that includes such landscaping features as lakes, beautiful water features and intertwined landscaping that make the whole place feel as though it has always been there.

The Portugal Masters is a golf tournament that attracts the pick of Europe's top golfing talent both because of the high prize money that is on offer (€2.25 million), and because of the magnificent surroundings in which the tournament is contested.

The overall winner of this year's tournament walked away with a rather nice prize of €375,000 and an eye catching trophy that anyone would enjoy having on their mantelpiece. That lucky individual in the 2012 Portugal Masters was Shane Lowry from Ireland who won the 72-hole tournament in a score of fourteen under par with a commanding last round of sixty six. He pipped Ross Fisher from England who was in second place on thirteen under par, and Michael Campbell who was on twelve under par.

The other big news to emerge from this year's Portugal Masters was that not only did Shane Lowry win the tournament but that this was in fact his first win on the European Tour as a professional (he won the Irish Open as an amateur in 2009).

This has also had the effect of shooting him up the leader board for the end of season "Race to Dubai", which brings with it some big money prizes and bonuses and he has now moved up from sixty-fifth place to twenty-ninth place overall in the standings.

The end of the Portugal Masters was as gripping as we have come to expect from this great golfing tournament which is fast turning into a classic. Over the course of the last few holes it looked for long periods as though there was going to be a need for a playoff between Shane Lowry and Ross Fisher of England. From the turn of the last round in fact Lowry made a remarkable comeback, picking up a birdy at the tenth hole and then producing a wonder shot at the 11th with his ball dropping in from a simply marvellous approach shot and dropping in for an eagle to level things up.

Fisher fought back with a string of birdies, but the Rocky style fight back of Lowry continued with further birdies of his own until it all came down to the very last hole on the very last day of the tournament to decide who the Portugal Masters champion for 2012 would be.

It looked at first like it wouldn't after all be Lowry's day, because a poor drive directly into the sand meant that he dropped a shot at the last and it looked like Fisher was all poised to steal the title from under his nose.

Fisher however couldn't hold his nerve and after taking three putts on the last he found himself a tantalising one shot from the eventual leader.

Shane Lowry was interviewed after he had finally secured his victory at the Portugal Masters and had this to say:

"I can't explain how I feel really. It's a dream come true - I'm over the moon.

Everyone was referring to me as the fella who won the Irish Open as an amateur, but now I've won such a prestigious event I don't know what to say.

"It was like playing in Ireland," he said. "It was crazy. It was great."

After this Shane Lowry was able to take possession of the winner's prize and the beautiful Portugal Masters Trophy which is made of sterling silver and has an engrossing design that includes filigree annulets which are set over a large ball. There are also numerous nautical and seafaring references in the design of the trophy to reflect Portugal's amazing history with the sea and its love of exploration.

This surely ranks as the greatest win of Shane Lowry's already successful career, but it remains to be seen whether he can build on his success here and move down into the top ten

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Published in: Guide to Portugal / News and Updates / Travel