Portugal Masters Leaderboard, Preview, TV Times

Sergio Garcia and Thorbjorn Olesen are in the field for the Portugal Masters over the Dom Pedro Victoria Golf Course in Vilamoura with one week to go until the Ryder Cup.

Portugal Masters Leaderboard, Preview, TV Times

Denmark’s Lucas Bjerregaard defends the Portugal Masters in Vilamoura against a strong field, including a number of Major champions and Ryder Cup players.

2017 Masters winner Sergio Garcia will tee it up as he looks to find top form with one week to go until he plays in his ninth Ryder Cup at Le Golf National, Paris. Also on Thomas Bjorn’s Ryder Cup side, Thorbjorn Olesen will aim to fine-tune his game in Portugal.

Major champions in the field for the Portugal Masters include Padraig Harrington, a winner of this event in 2016, and 2016 Masters winner Danny Willett.

Defending champion Lucas Bjerregaard is joined in the field by other former Portugal Masters winners – Shane Lowry, Alex Levy and Andy Sullivan.

This year will be the 12th instalment of the Portugal Masters. First contested in 2007, the inaugural tournament was won by England’s Steve Webster. Since then, Alvaro Quiros, Lee Westwood, Richard Green, Tom Lewis, Shane Lowry, David Lynn, Alexander Levy, Andy Sullivan and Padraig Harrington have been champions.

In last year’s Portugal Masters Lucas Bjerregaard of Denmark carded a closing round of 65 to win by four shots from Scotland’s Marc Warren.

Bjerregaard is looking forward to returning to the site of his maiden European Tour victory.

“The Portugal Masters is certainly a special event for me now and I can’t wait to defend my title,” he said. “The final round last year is up there amongst my best rounds. Some of the shots I hit under pressure were the best I had hit in a long time.”

The Dom Pedro Victoria in Vilamoura is one of Dom Pedro’s impressive portfolio of courses on the Algarve. Opened for play in 2004, it was designed by the great Arnold Palmer. It’s an American-style track with generous fairways and large, rolling greens. In 2005 the course hosted the World Cup, won by Wales.

The weather looks set fair for the week.

Venue: Dom Pedro Victoria Golf Course, Vilamoura, Portugal Date: Sep 20-23 Course stats: par 71, 7,146 yards Purse: €2,000,000 Defending champion: Lucas Bjerregaard (-20)

How to watch the Portugal Masters

TV Coverage: Thursday 20 – Sky Sports Golf and Sky Sports Main Event from 11.30am Friday 21 – Sky Sports Golf and Sky Sports Main Event from 11.30am Saturday 22 – Sky Sports Golf from 12.30pm Sunday 23 – Sky Sports Golf from 12.30pm

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Players to watch:

Lucas Bjerregaard – The defending champ has to be given a strong chance of winning again in Vilamoura. He was second in the European Masters and that followed top-10s in the Czech Republic and Denmark.

Hideto Tanihara – A player whose game is clearly in good shape. He was tied sixth in Switzerland and then tied third in the KLM Open.

Chris Wood – Runner-up in the KLM Open, Wood has three runner-up finishes this season. He would love to get a win under his belt.

Key Hole: 18th. At 463 yards this is a fabulous finishing hole. Water waits all the way up the left side from the tee and it continues to play a part in the approach. Anything coming up short or straying left will end up wet. A par here is a tough ask, particularly if you have a one-shot lead on Sunday afternoon.