Two months ago, the DP World Tour announced that the Portugal Masters was back on the schedule for 2022. Behind the scenes, there were a lot of backroom negotiations that took place to secure the increased prize fund necessary to host the event at Victoria this October.
If the last three years have taught us anything, it’s that nothing is certain. The Portugal Masters was in serious jeopardy of not being held this year, with at least two other venues outside of Portugal vying for the same week in the calendar. If the prize money hadn’t been found, Portugal might have lost the Masters for good, or at least the Algarve would have. Plenty of arguments were made by some of the main sponsors and the DP World Tour that the event could easily be held in the north, closer to a major air hub such as Lisbon Airport, which is far easier to access than Faro.
This announcement was enormous for Edge Golf College, as we had been promised a start in the DP World Tour Portugal Masters 2022. Our first-year students in 2021–2022 competed over five championships knowing that the winner of the Order of Merit had a very good chance of playing in the Portugal Masters. Then the prize money increased. Part of the DP World Tour’s pledge to its playing members that they would play for a minimum prize fund of €2,000,000 per event.
The start is supported by Visit Portugal and the DP World Tour and has sent enormous waves of excitement through the College, and anyone with even a passing interest in what we do. We spend a lot of time in the classroom talking about what it takes to play on a major tour, how to prepare for performance inside the ropes, and the organisation required to put on such a big event at such a prestigious venue. So to have a spot allocated to one of our students is something money can’t buy, and will always be treasured.
Very fittingly, the winner of the Order of Merit for the Edge Golf Championships over the winter was the College’s first captain, Noah Brunner, who can proudly say that in two weeks’ time, he’s about to make his DP World Tour debut.
And I’ve been asked to caddy! Normally, this wouldn’t pose a problem for me, but caddying for one of my students comes with a huge amount of honour, and an equal amount of pressure. The pressure comes mainly from the fact that I know how small the writing is on Dion Stevens’ yardage charts. The numbers are minuscule on those charts, which increases the likelihood of me mis-clubbing my player enormously. The one cardinal sin a caddy must not commit. What could possibly go wrong…
If you’re in the Algarve and able to attend the Portugal Masters, and you want to see something completely different – namely a short-sighted caddy carrying a bag for a debutant player, where the nerves are potentially going to be less for the player than they are for the caddy – then all you have to do is look at the start sheet for Thursday or Friday, look for the name Noah Brunner, and follow us.
Any support will be hugely appreciated. Hope to see you there! Neil.
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