It took Ricardo Santos all his experience, courage and, above all, his composure to overcome the penultimate lap of the Portugal Masters, the one in which playing conditions were more difficult, and he remained in the top 35 for the third day in a row, continuing. be the best Portuguese in this € 1.5 million European Tour with cash prizes.

The 15th Portugal Masters, the only Portuguese golf tournament included in the European Tour, will end tomorrow Sunday at the Dom Pedro Victoria golf course in Vilamoura, in the presence of the Secretary of State for Tourism (Rita Marquez) and Sports and Youth (Juan Paulo Rebelo) at the award ceremony.

Ricardo Santos walked out of the top 50 of the standings this Saturday, but finished the third round in 34th place, keeping the same 3 hits lower than the day before, after the 71st card was issued with 2.bugs and 2 birds … Santos, who was 31st in the first round and 30th in the second, shared with Stephen Gallagher, an even more veteran Scotsman, 47 who won the 2014 Ryder Cup.

But if the 39-year-old Algarve resident plays for the fifth time in his career in the last two rounds of the Portugal Masters, then for his compatriots Vitor Londo Lopes (25 years old) and Tomas Melo Guveia (27 years old) this is a debut, since they covered the distance for the first time In the most important Portuguese tournament. Interestingly, they continue to show the same results throughout the three days of competition and will compete together tomorrow for the fourth day in a row. Today they dropped from 37th to 57th (+3) after the third lap to 76th (+5).

The 15th Portugal Masters championship met with new leaders today. Italy’s Nino Bertazio, who led the first two rounds, is now one of 7th (-9) and tops the leaderboard with 197 shots (-16), a duo between Belgian Thomas Peters and Frenchman Mathieu Pavon. Both are 29 years old after they had a lesson: 8 birds for the Frenchman and the same for the Belgian who turned 1 eagle.

Peters, who is aiming for his fifth title in the European tour, and Pavon, who is chasing his first European Championship trophy, have a 4-stroke lead over Danish Lucas Bjerregor, winner of the 2017 Portugal Masters. so far, but Peters, a member of the 2016 Ryder Cup European team, has already won two events where he started on the last lap at the summit, and Pavon is watching for the first time to command a competition of this level. for 54 holes.

“The first nine holes were really brutal due to the wind,” said Thomas Peters, who is playing the Portugal Masters for the fifth time, being 6th (-12) in 2015. “The wind was stronger today than on other days. , “agreed Ricardo Santos.” The conditions were much more difficult than in the first two days, “added Tomas Melo Guveia.” The course was not easy, “guaranteed Vitor Londo Lopez.

The wind blew harder and unevenly, sometimes with side winds. Flags often continued to be placed very close to the borders of green spaces. The temperature has dropped, which is why the ball flies a little less. Some Greens gave the impression that the game was going a little slower than in previous days, and there was also the decision of the tournament director, Spaniard José Maria Zamora, to stop playing in the “ preferred lie ”, that is, it was no longer possible to put the ball on the fairway. “It matters,” said Ricardo Santos, “although it doesn’t happen there. But, for example, on hole 11, I was in a pit of sand, and it’s like a shot from a bunker. With the “preferred lie,” it would be different. “

Unsurprisingly, this was the day with the worst results. If we only talk about 65 players who passed the cut-off (to keep the comparison representative), look at this data: the best result today is 65 shots. In the previous days, there were 64 on Friday and 61 on Thursday. Today 28 players have beaten Par-71 on the pitch, up from 49 and 45. Today, 26 players have played over Par-71, up from 7 and 9 on the previous two days.

In these game settings, with fewer approaches to staying close to flags, it was even more important to pay well, a shot that most of the factors described above have less impact.

“I paid a lot of attention to the speed of the greens. That was the main thing because I feel like I read the lines well this week, ”said Mathieu Pavon, who leads the hit statistics in this Portugal Masters tournament. won in shock.

“I patted well and had a lot of chances. It was great to be hit like that, ”commented Thomas Peters, who drew 16 below par with Pavon with a precisely monstrous, line-filled shot on hole 18. ., the second bird in a row.

On the contrary, the Portuguese footballers were injured on the grass. “In the first 11 holes I couldn’t make a single putt and I had very good opportunities,” Ricardo Santos lamented. “My game was not at the same level, especially on the grass. Many strikes did not pass within three meters, and at this level it is not forgiven, ”- Thomas Melo Guveia chided himself. “With these big greens it is difficult to control the speed (‘pace’) when we are away from the flag. I hit 3 hits twice, which gave me 2 double machine guns, ”explained Vitor Londot Lopez.

Ricardo Santos’ mental strength stood out positively. He was often criticized for showing little emotion on the pitch and appearing too lazy, but he had a hidden inner fire. The best Portuguese in the race in Dubai could have failed with his first nine holes played 2 more strokes, but the opposite happened. As on the first day, he struggled to turn his luck on his side. He fully deserved the support of the audience accompanying him. Today there were 5702 spectators on the Dom Pedro Victoria golf course and several dozen followed.

“It was pretty public and I hope there will be more tomorrow. It’s always nice to feel the support of the Portuguese audience when we play at home. I’m happy with the fight to the end. Focusing to the end minimized things. … On a day like today, you know the only savings you can get are the greens, and I’ve already hit 22 shots in the first 11 holes. Along the way, if I gave up or got discouraged, I might finish. with many (hits) above Par. So I managed to finish Par, ”he stressed.

Tomorrow the Portugal Masters will conclude with the fourth and final round starting at 7:00 am. Last departure at 12:05. All groups will consist of two players (except for the first) and will only exit from hole 1.

The departure times for the Portuguese players are as follows: Victor Lopez and Tomás Melo Guveia play together at 7:24 am and Ricardo Santos at 9:26 am, alongside Spaniard Pep Angles, winner of the Challenge Tour championship last year.

The main results of the 15th Portugal Masters after the first 54 holes are presented as follows:

1st Thomas Peters (Belgium), 197 shots (68 + 64 + 65), 16 par.

1.º Mathieu Pavon (France), 197 (68 + 64 + 65), -16.

3rd place Lucas Bjerregaard (Denmark), 201 (67 + 65 + 69), -12.

4. Christoffer Broberg (Sweden), 202 (69 + 67 + 66), -11.

The results of the three Portuguese who passed the cut-off after the 3rd round are as follows:

34.º Ricardo Santos (titulist), 210 (70 + 69 + 71), -3.

57th Vitor Londo Lopez (CG Vilamoura), 216 (71 + 69 + 76), +3.

57th Thomas Melo Guveia (San Lorenzo), 216 (71 + 69 + 76), +3.

All interviews are fully available on the Portugal Masters Facebook account.