The Els Club Hosts First PGA TOUR Champions Tournament In Portugal

QUARTEIRA, PORTUGAL - NOVEMBER 22: A wide position of the par 3, 4th spread astatine The Els Club Vilamoura connected November 22, 2025 successful Quarteira, Portugal. (Photo by David Cannon/Getty Images)

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The PGA TOUR Champions tees disconnected successful Vilamoura, Portugal, astatine The Els Club this week, marking the first clip the circuit has visited the country.

"We are thrilled to partner pinch Arrow Global Group, Turismo de Portugal, Turismo do Algarve and Ernie Els to denote this exciting, first-of-its-kind PGA TOUR Champions arena successful Portugal," said PGA TOUR Champions President Miller Brady successful a PGA Tour interview. "This Tour is simply a world showcase of the game's legendary players, and we cognize the awesome play fans successful Portugal and passim Europe will invited the opportunity to watch them compete successful personification astatine The Els Club Vilamoura."

The inaugural arena is being played connected a tournament-tested course, having hosted the Portuguese Masters from 2007 to 2022, pinch notable erstwhile winners including Shane Lowry and Pádraig Harrington.

The course, group connected a reasonably level portion of property, winds successful and retired of discarded areas and astir galore h2o hazards, peculiarly connected the backmost nine, wherever h2o comes into play connected 5 of the 9 holes.

"Whenever our patient designs a play course, we ever person an oculus connected what makes it a successful tourney venue, truthful this was ever a large portion of our plans for The Els Club Vilamoura," said Els successful a PGA Tour article . "It's awesome to spot those plans now coming to fruition, and we're grateful to PGA TOUR Champions President Miller Brady, the squad astatine Arrow Global Group, Turismo de Portugal and Turismo do Algarve for sharing our imagination and bringing this breathtaking caller tourney here."

The course, formerly known arsenic the Victoria Course, served arsenic the big venue for the Portuguese Masters earlier being redesigned and rerouted by Ernie Els. It reopened for play pursuing the renewal successful July 2025. The changes focused connected preparing the people for title golf. In summation to the people renovations, the accommodation were upgraded pinch a caller clubhouse, luxury dining, backstage members' locker rooms, a driving scope and a putting green.

The Els Club originates pinch a welcoming opening par 4 featuring a generous fairway. Strategic bunkering connected some sides challenges players astatine cardinal driving distances, depending connected upwind guidance and speed. There is small h2o successful play connected the beforehand 9 arsenic the people winds done autochthonal grasslands, requiring players to style shots some ways to champion navigate the doglegs and attack shots.

The first brushwood pinch h2o comes astatine the opening par 3 4th hole, wherever a mini pond guards the beforehand of the green. The comparatively short spread should airs small trouble for the tour's accomplished players.

The backmost 9 takes connected a overmuch different character. The 10th features h2o moving the full magnitude of the correct side, extending to protect the front, correct and rear of the green. The 11th has a bifurcated fairway that first plays to the near of the water, past shifts to the correct earlier returning to the near adjacent the green.

Holes 16 and 17 besides characteristic h2o on the correct side. The par-4 16th requires players to discuss h2o that borders the fairway earlier carrying it to a raised green. The 17th is simply a agelong par 3 pinch a heavy putting aboveground and h2o lining the full correct side.

The apical 4 players successful the PGA TOUR Champions Charles Schwab Cup standings—Stewart Cink, Zach Johnson, Pádraig Harrington and Boo Weekley—are successful the section for the tournament's inaugural edition. Course designer Ernie Els, presently classed seventh successful the standings, is besides competing.

The Els Club Vilamoura, done an statement betwixt Arrow Global Group, Turismo de Portugal, Turismo do Algarve, the section assembly and the PGA TOUR, will big the tourney for the adjacent 5 years.

The tourney debuts pinch a $3 cardinal purse and will beryllium broadcast successful the United States connected Golf Channel.