On the day that the three Portuguese went down for the third year in a row and for the fourth time in the history of 15 Portugal Masters editions, Ricardo Santos continued to be the best national and Italian Nino Bertazio played in Portugal. Since his amateur days, he has kept the team in the most important Portuguese golf tournament, which has now shrunk to 104 players after four failures in the first two rounds.

However, there were many differences in the first two rounds of the only Portuguese tournament of the European Tour with a prize pool of € 1.5 million, which already exceeded 10,400 spectators in two days. Especially in terms of playing conditions: more sun, less clouds, lighter wind, the ball flies and rolls a little more down the fairway during the hottest hours and with the hardest flags.

Italian Nino Bertasio was not as brilliant as yesterday in his personal record (-10), but he stayed ahead, showing 69 (-2) on the second lap, and now only 130 (-12). Spectacular Spaniard Adri Arnaus also finished in 2nd place. He scored 67 (-4), added 132 (-10), but now shares this Dauphin position with three other players: Dane Lucas Bjerregor (67 + 65), Portugal Masters champion in 2017; Belgian Thomas Peters (68 + 64), who won the 2018 World Cup and has already played for the European Ryder Cup team; and the Frenchman Mathieu Pavon (68 + 64), who, like Arnaus, is on the hunt for his first title on the European tour.

As for the Portuguese, Ricardo Santos (70 + 69) has lost only one position compared to yesterday’s Thursday and is in 30th place (-3). As for Thomas Melo Gouvei and Vitor Londo Lopez, it is incredible how they continue to show exactly the same results (71 + 69) and moved up from 51st to 37th (-2). The cut was fixed at Par on the pitch and 65 players passed by.

Among the Portuguese who missed the cut-off, Pedro Figueiredo (71 + 73) dropped from 51st to 74th (+2), Filipe Lima (72 + 73) fell from 65th to 81st (+3) and amateur Pedro Claire Neves (78 + 84). ) will take 104th and last place (+20).

It was again a positive day for Portuguese golf. The barrier of the three Portuguese cut in the Portugal Masters has not yet been broken, but this national record has been repeated, first set in 2012 and repeated in 2019, 2020 and 2021. Perhaps the most interesting data is Fact. that on these four occasions when the Portuguese triumvirate played over the weekend, there were eight different players, which clearly shows the work done by the Portuguese Golf Federation over this decade, constantly introducing new values.

In 2012, they were Ricardo Santos, Pedro Figueiredo and Ricardo Melo Guveia, the last two then still amateurs. In 2019, they were Ricardo Melo Guveia, Thiago Cruz and Tomas Santos Silva. In 2020, Ricardo Santos, Ricardo Melo Guveia and Tomas Bessa. In 2021, Ricardo Santos, Vitor Londot Lopez and Tomas Melo Guveia, the latter two set a personal best as they never qualified for a weekend in Vilamoura.

Looking at these names, we can see that Ricardo Melo Guveia and Ricardo Santos meet regularly and are, in fact, the most successful in the only Portuguese tournament in the European Tour: Melinho had eight cutoffs and Ricardo Santos today. for the fifth time, becoming the second best Portuguese in this competition.

Brothers Melo Guveia, Santos and Londo Lopez have another thing in common: they have all been prominent figures in the famous amateur teams at Vilamoura Golf Club, the home of national golf champions. In fact, Londo Lopez continues to represent Vilamoura as a professional. Santos, for his part, has been one of the ambassadors for the European Tour of the Dom Pedro Victoria golf course for several years.

Knowing the pitch designed by the late Arnold Palmer is very important, and Nino Bertazio knows it well. He has entered the Portugal Masters for the sixth consecutive year. The cut failed only once, and it was 12th (-12) in 2017. “I love it, the track is good, the weather is great, the food is amazing, the hotel is friendly. This is the course I know if I’m playing. Well, I’ll get good results, “he said, admitting that it was not easy to manage yesterday’s emotions:” I’m not going to lie that it was difficult with so many posts on social media, but it was a good second round. Within a week, it looks like the start of a new tournament and I’m ready. ”

The only aspect the leader complained about was that he didn’t score many putts, and this problem was felt by many Portuguese as well. Ricardo Santos, 39, made the top 20 when in the second round he found he had 3 under-par (4 in total) thanks to birdies on holes 3, 4 and 8. He finished hole 36 with 69 shots. … , 2 below par, after 5 birds and 3 touchdowns, the last of them 18, again due to the fact that he was forced to give up a rough punch, as he did yesterday (Thursday) Pedro Figueiredo and Pedro Claire Neves. These 18 irregularities around the greenery are awe-inspiring and cursed by the Portuguese.

“At 18, I was unlucky with the ball lying and I couldn’t take risks playing right under the flag, even in the middle of the green. This is always a very difficult trick because you don’t want to make a serious mistake to close. And having water later, with a fast green, with that rough around the green that is fickle and you don’t know how the ball will react. It was a very good lap anyway, and I felt much better on the pitch, “said the 2011 and 2016 national champion, adding that he has” more room for the bird. “

Tomas Melo Guveia, 27, started with two birds on holes 11 and 12 (he left hole 10). It is true that there was a scarecrow-bird-boggy-par-boggy streak later on holes 15, 16, 17, 18 and 1, but he showed great strength, recovering with more birds on holes 5 and 9. 69 strokes. , 2 fewer to par, was his best ever, as he played below par for the first time in eight rounds at the Portugal Masters.

More than enough reasons to celebrate, even because he played with a different Algarve, there were many fans cheering on the last hole (today 9) and the players toasting us with birds: “I never got through a hit and never did it. was really close to passing it. It is a spectacle when there are so many people behind us who support us. Today I hit worse, but on the second nine holes I hit two big shots, which made me more relaxed. But I only missed two fairways and two greens, so it was a very solid circle and I am very happy. “

Tomas Melo Guveia predicted that maybe he will play the third round in a row with Vitor Lopez, and this is exactly what will happen tomorrow. Londo Lopez converted 3 birds as he did yesterday (17, 2 and 9), but on the other hand only lost one shot on 18 holes. You are mentally strong.

As the youngest of Melo Guveia, 69 (-2) is his best result in eight laps in the Portugal Masters and his first in the red numbers. He has always been a birdie (16 in three previous appearances and still 1 heads), but has lost too many shots (18 scarecrows and 4 doubles in total for 2017, 2018 and 2020). Now you can see that this is much more consistent.

“I trained well for this tournament. I have never felt so well prepared. I hit a lot of greens and fairways. I missed a few beats, maybe because of emotion, but I managed to control myself with a lot of public support. I never took an exam on my home course, it was very nice that the audience supported me. We pushed each other. I felt like I was at the Portugal Masters, but this was another tour with my starch Tomás., 25 years old.

As for the three Portuguese who missed the cut, Pedro Figueiredo, 30, stood out for finishing his season on the European Tour.

“Figgy” started not bad at all, 1 bird on 11 (out of 10), but was seriously punished by a negative streak of double-par-double-bogey on holes 12, 13, 14 and 15 .. 2 birds on 4 and 7 not enough.

Two double landings of the 2013 national champion were due to balls hitting the water, exactly the same problem as Filipe Lim had on holes 14 and 18. From the preliminary cut, he still made 3 birds 10, 12 and 15), but he also closes the season now. The 2017 national champion has promised to return next year to the Portugal Open and again to the Portugal Masters, but admits it could be his goodbye to the tournament if FPG didn’t offer him an invitation.

This is not the case with Pedro Claire Neves, a 21-year-old amateur who admitted to having a hard day to swallow. Like yesterday, he still has 1 bird (17), but, of course, he was upset by the cumulative result of 20 more than par. In any case, an economics student at the Catholic University of Porto appreciated the experience of debuting on the European tour and hopes to be able to repeat it.

The Portugal Masters will continue tomorrow, Saturday, with the third and penultimate lap starting at 7:20 am. Last departure at 12:40 pm. Unlike the previous days, all groups will consist of two players (except for the first) and will only come out of hole 1.

The departure times for the Portuguese players are as follows: Victor Lopez and Tomás Melo Guveia play together at 8:50 am and Ricardo Santos at 10:00 am with Richie Ramsey from Scotland, winner of five European Tour titles.

The full interviews are available on the Portugal Masters Facebook account.