Tournament: Open de Portugal at Royal Óbidos
Venue: Royal Óbidos, Óbidos, Portugal
Hashtag: #OpendePortugal
Open de Portugal at Royal Óbidos preview:
Pedro Figueiredo is looking to boost his chances of promotion to the DP World Tour when he tees it up on home soil at the Open de Portugal at Royal Óbidos this week.
The Portuguese has posted three top 20s in his three previous starts on the HotelPlanner Tour, coming at the Vierumäki Finnish Challenge supported by Finnish Golf Union, The Dutch Futures and GAC Rosa Challenge Tour.
The 34-year-old has climbed to 37th in the season-long Road to Mallorca Rankings following those results to sit 17 spots outside the promotion places,
Figueiredo is now eager to capitalise on his consistent form as he bids to secure a return to the DP World Tour.
“I’ve been playing well the last four weeks” he said.
“I’ve had some good results and the last couple of tournaments I was leading after two rounds and 45 holes. I haven’t finished those off, but I feel like the game is in good shape and this week would be a good one to pull it off.
“I think I need to keep putting myself in that position. The more you do that, the more comfortable you will feel in that position at the top of the leaderboard.
“I’ve played this event many times and never really been close to winning it but to do it this week would be really special.”
Figueiredo has been a regular feature at the Open de Portugal at Royal Óbidos since the event moved to the course in 2020, with a tied 18th finish the same year his best performance to date.
In search of an improvement this time around, Figueiredo believes his game is well-suited to the windy conditions on Portugal’s Silver Coast.
“It’s always windy out here so hitting low shots will be key, which I am really comfortable with so that could play in my favour,” he added.
“I always use the mini driver off the ground so that could be a good shot to have too.
“My record has been consistent around this course, but I haven’t finished inside the top five or top ten so far. I need to up those results a little bit. The key here is the iron play to the greens with the greens being well protected with lots of water.”
Figueiredo, who last won on the HotelPlanner Tour back in 2018, admitted his excitement to return to Óbidos, with the storied venue playing host on the Road to Mallorca for the final time this week.
“Royal Óbidos is a great venue,” he said. “It’s been here for six years now, and it’s always been in great shape. Unfortunately, this will be the last year here at Royal Óbidos, but I think we are very thankful for the past six years here in this area.
“I don’t think I have any added pressure this week but there’s a bit more excitement with there being lots of people coming to watch.”
Figueiredo is part of a strong field at Royal Óbidos which includes Road to Mallorca Number One David Law, two-time DP World Tour winner Eddie Pepperell and the HotelPlanner Tour’s most recent winner, Hugo Townsend.
The first round of the Open de Portugal at Royal Óbidos gets under way at 7:50am local time on Thursday, with Figueiredo teeing off at 8:23am alongside Law and two-time DP World Tour winner, James Morrison.
