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Open de Portugal

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SEPTEMBER 14-17, 2023

We are proud to announce the 61st edition of the Portugal 2023 Open tournament at the Royal Óbidos Golf Course in the Western Region. The prestigious European Challenge Tour, organized by the Portuguese Golf Federation, was created in 1953 and is one of the oldest and most emblematic tournaments on the European calendar, becoming one of the founding events of the European first division. The Portuguese Open is still the most important proof of the FPG calendar in terms of size and opportunities it offers to professional Portuguese players and elite amateurs. Some of the biggest stars in the world today played at the Portuguese Open, such as Martin Kaymer, Matt Wallace, Henrik Stenson, Padraig Harrington, Ricardo Melo Gouveia and Pedro Figueiredo (currently on the European Tour). The Portuguese Open at Royal Óbidos 2023 will take place from September 14th to 17th, 2023 in a 72 hole (four round) tournament with Cut after 36 holes where the top 60 players (+ draws) qualify.

Ricardo Melo Gouveia will be one of the stars of the 59th edition of the Open de Portugal at Royal Óbidos.

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The Royal Óbidos Spa & Golf Resort receives, until Sunday (the 26th), the second-largest national participation ever in the Open de Portugal tournament.

THE GOLF COURSE

The Royal Óbidos Golf Course offers the perfect conditions for a high level and challenging championship. Designed by golf legend Severiano Ballesteros, the 18-hole, 6,400-meter Par 72 course subtly integrates with the natural surroundings, taking advantage of the undulating terrain, attracting golfers of all levels.

Royal Óbidos Spa & Golf Resort

Cabeço da Serra ( Coordinates 39°24'21.3"N 9°14'23.3"W), Óbidos, Leiria, 2510-665, Portugal

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Volvo China Open

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Alexander Levy thrilled with form on 10-year anniversary of first professional win in China

By Mathieu Wood

A return to the scene of your maiden professional victory is always uplifting. For Alexander Levy , his fond memories are heightened by the form he is in on his return to the Volvo China Open after a challenging period in his career.

During a breakout season in 2014, the Frenchman won the first of five DP World Tour titles and two at this event at Hidden Grace Golf Club, formerly known as Genzon.

Levy added three further titles in as many seasons from 2016-2018, with his most success coming at the Trophee Hassan II, playing his way into the conversation for selection at both the 2016 and 2018 Ryder Cup.

However, after narrowly missing out on his sixth DP World Tour victory at the Cazoo Classic in August 2021, he was sidelined for almost a year between February 2022 to January 2023 with a back injury.

Form was hard to come by on his return and he lost his full playing privileges at the end of last season, but he has since rebuilt confidence in his game on the European Challenge Tour.

Alexander Levy's DP World Tour wins

“I am really pleased to be here,” Levy told the DP World Tour ahead of the Volvo China Open's return to the DP World Tour schedule for the first time since 2019.

“I have such good memories. The first win is always special. I love this place and I am so happy to be here.

“I realised that (this is the ten-year anniversary of his win in 2014) two days ago!

“A good anniversary, I am happy to be here and looking forward to something positive in the mind… good memories, good energy, it is always nice.”

. @alexlevygolf returns to the @VolvoChinaOpen this week after winning it in 2014 and 2017! 🏆 #VolvoChinaOpen pic.twitter.com/T2ypF5pZd2 — DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) April 30, 2024

Levy became the first two-time winner of the Volvo China Open in 2017 – then held at Topwin Golf & Country Club – and later rose to a career-high 46th on the Official World Golf Ranking in the weeks following his fifth and most recent DP World Tour title in Morocco.

While the 2012 Qualifying School graduate almost dropped outside of the world's top 800 last year, the 33-year-old is enjoying an upturn in his fortunes on the Challenge Tour so far this season with four top 10s in as many starts heading into this week to climb back inside the top 300.

Reflecting on the injection in confidence he has enjoyed over recent weeks, he added: “For sure, my game is back.

“After my injury, it was not really easy. Last year was tough. I am happy with the way I have managed to get back on the top of the leaderboards. Now, I am looking forward to the next step.”

His run of results over the past couple of months means Levy sits second on the Road to Mallorca Rankings, and while he is glad to be back competing on the DP World Tour his intention is to see out the rest of the campaign on the Challenge Tour.

“This week the goal is just to enjoy [and] remind me what it feels to play on Tour, to get some good energy and I will follow the season on the Challenge Tour.

“But it is nice to be here, I was so happy to be able to come back. We will see what can happen.

“Golf is so special, so we don’t know what the future is.”

Asian Swing: What is at stake at the final event in China?

With one event left on the Asian Swing, 17 players are still in contention to emerge as the Swing champion as the DP World Tour's Race to Dubai continues at the Volvo China Open.

DP World Tour Partners

2022 Portugal Masters money: Purse, winner’s share, prize money payout

The 2022 Portugal Masters prize money payout is from the $2 million purse, with 73 professional players who complete three rounds at Dom Pedro Victoria Golf Course in Vilamoura, Portugal, earning DP World Tour prize money and an official-money paycheck this week.

The winner's share of the Portugal Masters prize pool is at $333,330, with the second-place finisher taking home $222,220. The Portugal Masters prize money payout breakdown shows a payout of 16.67 percent of the purse to the winner, and how much each DP World Tour player earns is guaranteed down to the last-place player, which is actually 73rd place this week.

For 2022 Portugal Masters results and payout , see our final leaderboard

The Portugal Masters field is headed by Jordan Smith, Eddie Pepperell, Gavin Green and more.

This tournament started with 132 players, and a cut was made this week after two rounds. Every professional player in the field is paid for completing the event, but how much each player is paid at the 2022 Portugal Masters from the correct 2022 Portugal Masters full-field payout is based on their finish.

The 36-hole cut was made to the top 65 players and ties, and those 74 players have an opportunity to move up the leaderboard in the final round.

The 2022 Portugal Masters prize money payout is only true after the DP World Tour cut is made, with the DP World Tour adding money to the purse if more than 65 professionals make the cut to ensure all players are paid.

With the DP World Tour cut rule down to the top 65 and ties, players are subject to the DP World Tour's secondary cut if more than 78 players make the cut.

What else is on the line

Beyond money, there are important points, perks and benefits on the line for the field -- in particular, the tournament winner.

The winner of this event will get 460 DP World Tour points , as this is considered an official event on the DP World Tour schedule.

Additionally, there are approximately 13.5 Official World Golf Ranking points on the line for the winner.

While this event offers a significant payday, a win comes with the benefits that come with winning on the DP World Tour. Winners of these events get a two-plus season exemption on the DP World Tour, as well as berths into other big tour events.

2022 Portugal Masters prize money, winner's share, first-place payout

About the author.

Ryan Ballengee

Ryan Ballengee is founder and editor of Golf News Net. He has been writing and broadcasting about golf for nearly 20 years. Ballengee lives in the Washington, D.C. area with his family. He is currently a +2.6 USGA handicap, and he has covered dozens of major championships and professional golf tournaments. He likes writing about golf and making it more accessible by answering the complex questions fans have about the pro game or who want to understand how to play golf better.

Ryan talks about golf on various social platforms:

X or Twitter: https://twitter.com/ryanballengee Facebook: https://facebook.com/ryanballengeegolf Instagram: https://instagram.com/ryanballengee YouTube: https://youtube.com/@ryanballengeegolf

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Welcome to 

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The events are open for all senior golfers age 50 and over!

Welcome to t he 2024 season!

NEXT EVENTS OPE N FOR RE GISTRATION:

​ Padova Senior Open 2024 - 14th-16th of May

Pirin  Senior Open 2024 - 14th-16th of June

Basildon Senior Open 2024 - 25th-27th of June

Norwegian Senior Open 2024 - 30th of July-1st of August

National Senior Open 2024 - 23rd-25th of August

Tegernseer Senior Open 2024 - 9th-11th of September

Andalucian Senior Open 2024 - 22nd-24th of November

Algarvian Invitational 2024 - 2nd-6th of Janu ary

Alga rvian Charity Pro Am 2024 - 7th-14th of January

Mallorca Senior Open 2024 - 7th-9th of  February

JJW International Amateurs 2024 - 18th-25th of Februar

Barcelona Senior Open 2024 - 8th-10th of March

Valencia Senior Open 2024 - 9th-11th of A pr il

Algarvian Invitational 2023 - 3rd-7th of January

Algarvian Charity Pro Am 2023 - 8th-15th of January

Mallorca Senior Open 2023 - 9th-11th of  February

JJW International Amateurs 2023 - 12th-19th of February

Malaga Senior Open 2023 - 4th-6th of April

Lisbon Senior Open 2023 - 14th-16th of May

Padova Senior Open 2023 - 28th-30th of June

Norwegian Senior Open 2023 - 25th-27th of July

National Senior Open 2023 - 18th-20th of August

Tegernseer Senior Open 2023 - 11th-13th of September

Marbella Senior Open 2023  - 28th-30th of November

“It´s a fantastic opportunity for amateurs to play together with professionals at great venues! I really recommend all senior players to join the events and feel the good atmosphere!”

Algarvian Invitational 2022 - 4th-8th of January

Algarvian Charity Pro Am 2022 - 9th-16th of January 

Mallorca Senior Open 2022 - 9th-11th of  February 

Lisbon Senior Open 2022 - 27th-29th of May 

Padova Senior Open 2022 - 23rd-25th of June 

National Senior Open 2022 - 26th-28th of August 

Munich Senior Open 2022 - 12th-14th of September 

Valencia Senior Open 2022 - 13th-15th of October 

Marbella Senior Open 2022 - 5th-7th of December

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Algarvian Charity Pro Am 2021 - 10th-16th of January

Mallorca Senior Open 2021 - 6th-8th of May

Costa del Golf Senior Open 2021 - 28th-30th of May  

Lisbon Senior Open 2021 - 17th-19th of June

National Sen ior Open 2021 - 20th-22nd of August 

Munich Senior Open 2021 - 11th-13th of October 

Marbella Senior Open 2021 - 1st-3rd of December

Algarvian Inv itational 2020

Algarvian Charity Pro-Am 2020

Mallorca Senior Open 2020 - 20th-2 2nd of February

Norwegian Senior Open 2020 - 31st of July-2nd of August

National Senior Open 2020 - 21st-23rd of August

SGTE Senior Open at Olching 2020 - 5th-7th of October

Senior Golf Tour Europe Open 2020 - 6th-8th of November

Marbella Senior Open 2020 - 3rd-5th of December

The 2019 season was a big success!

In Portugal the first event was fully booked with 144 players and in Pro Am the week after it was 200 players! 

In Mallorca Senior Open there were 53 players from 13 nations and we had a new record with 7 women playing in the event!  We moved to Hungary and the beautiful Zala Springs Resort, then off to UK and the fantastic Rockliffe Hall.

Then we spent the days just outside Rome at Fiuggi and experienced the great Italian hospitality with wine and food. After Rome, it was time to travel up to the magic summer light in Scandinavia and  Norwegian Senior Open.

Then  some  fantastic days at  the  beautiful National Golf Resort in Lithuania After  Lithuania, we organized SGTE Senior Open at Golf Club  Olching which is one of the best golf courses in Germany. 

We were on Sardegna, Italy at the fantastic Is Molas golf resort for the Is Molas Senior Open 2019 and then moved to Asolo for the  Asolo International Pro Am.  And finally we ended the season with the Tour final at La Cala Golf Resort in Marbella!

Please go to the Tournament page for more information about our events:

Tournaments 2019

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Local tee sheet: Who are the professional golfers residing on the First Coast, Golden Isles?

Nearly six dozen touring professionals have established the two areas as their base of operations.

They’re some of the best golfers in the world and they call the First Coast and Georgia’s Golden Isles home. 

Nearly six dozen, some natives of both areas, some transplants from other states as far away as California, Washington and New England and others from other nations such as Australia, Sweden, Fiji, Belgium, Colombia, Mexico, Scotland and China. 

But they’ve made the same decision — either move to the First Coast of the Golden Isles to take advantage of the world-class golf courses, practice facilities such as the PGA Tour Academy and the Sea Island Resort Performance Center — or stay exactly where they were brought up. 

Here’s the comprehensive list, based on the biographical information they have released to their respective tours. We've also included area natives who have moved elsewhere and are still active players.

And if you bump into them at a convenience store or in the grocery aisle, say hi. 

Tyson Alexander, Jacksonville Beach: The former Gator All-American battled until he was 34 years old to get to the PGA Tour and made it in 2022, then retained his card last season by finishing 102nd on the FedEx Cup points list. 

Jonas Blixt, Jacksonville Beach: A native of Sweden and a former Florida State player, Blixt has won three times on the PGA Tour, including the Zurich Classic in 2017 when he played with 2022 Players champion Cameron Smith. 

Jonathan Byrd, St. Simons Island, Ga.: He was the first four-time All-ACC player at Clemson and has won five times on the PGA Tour, plus the 2017 Korn Ferry Tour Championship at the Atlantic Beach Country Club. Byrd is noted for winning the 2010 Shriners Hospital for Children in Las Vegas with a walkoff hole-in-one in a playoff. 

Bud Cauley, Jacksonville native: Now living in the Palm Beach area, Cauley was one of the top junior golfers in First Coast history and got his PGA Tour card in one summer of sponsor invitations, which he turned into top 10 finishes, which led to his card. Had to recover from a serious car accident in Columbus, Ohio, in 2018 in which he was the passenger and is playing on a medical exemption. 

Adrien Dumont de Chassart, Ponte Vedra Beach: The native of Belgium played at Illinois, then won his professional debut in 2023 at the Korn Ferry Tour BMW Charity Pro-Am. He added another victory later in the year to ensure his PGA Tour card for 2024. 

Nico Echavarria, Ponte Vedra Beach: The younger of the two Echavarria brothers from Colombia reached the PGA Tour last year through the Korn Ferry Tour, then won the Puerto Rico Open to earn a two-year exemption. 

Harris English, St. Simons Island, Ga.: The University of Georgia graduate won the Korn Ferry Tour's event at the UGA golf course as an amateur in 2011, added two more Korn Ferry titles, and then four PGA Tour victories. He's finished among the top 10 in three of the last four U.S. Opens and in March tied for 19th at The Players.

Matt Every, Jacksonville Beach: A Daytona Beach native and four-time All-American at the University of Florida, Every won the Arnold Palmer Invitational in back-to-back years in 2014-15 before losing his fully exempt Tour status. 

Brian Harman, St. Simons Island, Ga.: Another in a long line of University of Georgia players, the Savannah native has won three PGA Tour titles, capped by last year's Open Championship, through sheer work and determination. 

Billy Horschel, Ponte Vedra Beach: After a successful college career at Florida, Horschel has carved out a respectable record on the PGA Tour that has been highlighted so far by his FedEx Cup championship in 2014. He won his eighth PGA Tour title on April 21 in the Dominican Republic. 

Will Gordon, St. Simons Island, Ga.: The Vanderbilt graduate is struggling this season after finishing 98th in 2022-23 on the FedEx Cup. 

Ben Griffin, St. Simons Island, Ga.: A former University of North Carolina star who has a fallback position should he leave pro golf — he has an economics degree and has worked as a loan officer with a mortgage company. 

Lanto Griffin, Ponte Vedra Beach: Griffin won the 2020 Houston Open but has struggled since then, finishing 201st on the FedEx Cup last season and is outside the top 125 so far this season. 

Zach Johnson, St. Simons Island, Ga.: The pride of Drake University has done more through hard work and doggedness than almost any modern player. Johnson's 2007 Masters title and 2015 Open Championship highlight a career in which he's won 12 PGA Tour titles. He was the Korn Ferry Tour player of the year in 2004. 

Patton Kizzire, St. Simons Island, Ga.: The Auburn graduate is a past Korn Ferry Tour player of the year and has won twice on the PGA Tour, both times in 2018 at the Sony Open and Mayakoba, Mexico. 

Ben Kohles, Ponte Vedra Beach: He's had two two-victory seasons on the Korn Ferry Tour 11 years apart, in 2012 and 2023 and posted his best PGA Tour finish with a solo fifth last fall at the RSM Classic. 

David Lingmerth, Ponte Vedra Beach: The native of Sweden and former Arkansas player had a career resurgence last season by posting a finish of 80th on the FedEx Cup, his best since 2016. His season was highlighted by a tie for sixth at The Players, his second top 10 in the tournament. His only PGA Tour title was a big one: the 2015 Memorial. 

Ryan McCormick, Jacksonville: He earned Tour status by finishing 27th on the Korn Ferry Tour points list last season. McCormick played college golf at St. Johns. 

Tyler McCumber, Jacksonville Beach: A graduate of Nease and Florida, the son of 1988 Players champion Mark McCumber is battling a shoulder injury. With the merging of the PGA Tour's development circuits in Canada and Latin America, McCumber will be the only player in history to earn Korn Ferry Tour status by winning the money titles on each of those tours and a total of six titles. 

Keith Mitchell, St. Simons Island, Ga.: The 2019 winner of the Cognizant Classic has been a steady performer, on his way to a seventh season of making the FedEx Cup playoffs. Need to find a good restaurant at a PGA Tour stop? Players know to hit up Mitchell, who prides himself on knowing the best places. 

Philip Knowles, Jacksonville: Knowles is the first UNF player to earn his PGA Tour card, off the 2022 Korn Ferry Tour. He's playing on a medical exemption after a freak accident last year in which he cut his hand severely on a can lid. He was tied for the lead through 54 holes at the Korn Ferry Tour's Savannah event and finished in a tie for fourth. 

Russell Knox, Ponte Vedra Beach: The former JU star has been a winner at every level — college, the Hooters Tour, the Korn Ferry Tour and twice on the PGA Tour. He has a 59 on the Korn Ferry Tour and is battling his way back through that circuit. 

Andrew Novak, St. Simons Island, Ga.: One of the best players to come out of the Southern Conference, he was won four times at Wofford and was the SoCon player of the year in 2017. Finished 68th on the FedEx Cup points list last season. 

Raul Pereda, Jacksonville: The JU graduate finally reaped the fruits of years on international tours when he earned his card at PGA Tour Q School last December at the TPC Sawgrass Dye's Valley Course and the Sawgrass Country Club. He carries two ball markers: one for short putts and one for long putts. 

J.T. Poston, St. Simons Island, Ga.: The best PGA Tour player to ever come out of Western Carolina University. He won the 2019 Wyndham Championship and the 2022 John Deere Classic. 

Sam Ryder, Atlantic Beach: He's no relation to Samuel Ryder, the English businessman who donated the trophy for the competition that became the Ryder Cup. Ryder is from Winter Park, played at Stetson and didn't enter a junior tournament until he was 16 years old. In March he broke the record for the most birdies in one Players Championship with 27 on his way to a tie for 16th.

Greyson Sigg, St. Simons Island, Ga.: Another former University of Georgia Bulldog who married coach Chris Haack's daughter Katie. Sigg won twice on the 2020 Korn Ferry Tour and has kept his PGA Tour card since. 

Jimmy Stanger, Ponte Vedra Beach: A former University of Virginia player who knows how to manage his money -- he interned at the Federal Reserve and Raymond James Financial. 

Davis Thompson, St. Simons Island, Ga.: He followed in his father's footsteps in playing for the Georgia Bulldogs and took Jon Rahm to the final few holes before losing the 2023 American Express. 

Michael Thompson, St. Simons Island, Ga.: A two-time PGA Tour winner, his nickname at Alabama was "Slick" for his ability to get up and down from almost anywhere. 

Carl Yuan, Jacksonville: The former University of Washington player is a native of China and a past Korn Ferry Tour winner. He's flashed as times such as a closing 63 this year at the Sony Open to secure a tie for fourth.  

LIV Golf League 

Cameron Smith, Ponte Vedra Beach: The native of Australia remains the First Coast's only PGA Tour player to jump to LIV Golf and has won three times, to go with his six PGA Tour titles and three DP World victories. Smith's 2022 season will be hard to beat — he won the Players Championship and the Open Championship, before moving on to LIV Golf.  

Korn Ferry Tour 

Dawson Armstrong, Jacksonville: The Lipscomb graduate earned conditional Korn Ferry status at the PGA Tour Q School in Ponte Vedra Beach last December and has made only two of six cuts this season. 

Chris Baker, Jacksonville: Baker played college golf at Iowa State and has 17 career top-10 Korn Ferry finishes. 

Blayne Barber, Lake City native: Now living in Auburn, Ala. (where he played college golf), Barber has 105 PGA Tour starts and 115 Korn Ferry starts. His closest call to winning on the PGA Tour was a tie for second at the 2016 RSM Classic. 

Fred Biondi, Jacksonville: The individual NCAA champion for the Florida Gators last season, the native of Brazil earned his Korn Ferry Tour card through the PGA Tour University rankings. He tied for 23rd at the RSM Classic last season and tied for 10th at the PGA Tour Q School. 

Chandler Blanchet, Atlantic Beach: He led the 2023 PGA Tour Latinoamerica points list to earn his Korn Ferry Tour card and has two top-10 finishes in 57 starts. 

Cody Blick, Jacksonville: A native of San Jose, Calif., Blick shot a final-round 63 and tied for 25th in the 2018 Korn Ferry Tour national qualifier after his clubs were stolen before the final round and he had a makeshift set courtesy of Titleist reps and the club's head pro and superintendent. 

Dillon Board, Baldwin: The only native of the small Western Duval town to reach the Korn Ferry Tour (from his finish at the 2023 Q School), Board tied for 20th at the Korn Ferry's Colombia event this season. 

Ricky Castillo, Jacksonville: After helping the Florida Gators win the 2023 national championship, Castillo made a big splash by winning the Korn Ferry Tour event in Wichita. He made his first six cuts of the 2024 season, all among the top 20, with two top 10 finishes. 

Vince Covello, Atlantic Beach: A Cinderella story if there ever was one. After playing on seven mini-tours, the former Nease and UNF player got his PGA Tour card in 2019 thanks to winning on the Korn Ferry Tour. He lost his Tour card after that but he'll always have the moment. Covello currently is on a Korn Ferry Tour medical extension. 

Reid Davenport, St. Simons Island, Ga.: A Vanderbilt graduate from Houston, Davenport earned his status at the 2023 PGA Tour Q School. 

Taylor Dickson, Jacksonville: He won in Chile earlier this year in his 81st career Korn Ferry Tour start. Dickson is from Gastonia, N.C., and played college golf at Winthrop. 

Brett Drewitt, Ponte Vedra Beach: The Australia native has 182 career Korn Ferry Tour starts, with one victory in 2020. He said if he wasn't a golfer he'd be playing cricket. 

Taylor Funk, Ponte Vedra Beach: The son of 2005 Players champion Fred Funk and a high school state champion with Ponte Vedra, Funk shot a 60 in a PGA Tour Canada event last year and earned status from the PGA Tour Q School. Funk played on the University of Texas golf team in 2016 with Scottie Scheffler, Beau Hossler and Doug Ghim. 

Joey Garber, St. Simons Island, Ga.: Found his way from Petosky, Mich., to the University of Georgia and has 131 career Korn Ferry Tour starts, with a victory in 2018 in Raleigh. 

Emilio Gonzalez, St. Simons Island, Ga.: The Mexico native ran off three top-20 finishes in a row earlier this season, with a tie for eighth in Colombia. 

Tano Goya, Ponte Vedra Beach: He's a seasoned winner, with seven titles, coming from far-flung places such as his native Argentina, Portugal and Sweden. 

Evan Harmeling, Atlantic Beach: The Princeton graduate and native of Boston won the 2013 Massachusetts Open and donated his entire first-place check of $15,000 to a charity that assists victims of the Boston Marathon bombing. 

Rick Lamb, St. Simons Island, Ga.: He won the 2016 LECOM Open in Lakewood Ranch and has made 109 Korn Ferry Tour starts. Lamb is a native of South Bend, Ind., who played golf at Tennessee. 

Peter Knade, St. Simons Island, Ga.: Knade was a standard bearer for Rory McIlroy's group during the final round of the 2012 Cognizant Classic when McIlroy won to ascend to No. 1 in the world. Knade went on to play golf at the University of Maryland. 

Patrick Newcomb, Jacksonville Beach: He and his brother Nick are both in the Murray State Athletics Hall of Fame for their college golf careers. 

Paul Peterson, St. Simons Island, Ga.: The Oregon State graduate is comfortable outside the U.S. His three career Korn Ferry Tour top-10s have come in the Bahamas, Panama and Chile. 

Spencer Ralston, St. Simons Island, Ga.: Played with Davis Thompson at Georgia for four years. His father, Mitch, played golf at Clemson. 

Doc Redman, Jacksonville Beach: Lost his PGA Tour card after the 2022-23 season but tied for seventh at PGA Tour Q-School and posted a tie for sixth in Savannah last month. He beat Doug Ghim to win the 2017 U.S. Amateur. 

Julian Suri, Ponte Vedra Beach: A two-time Florida State champion at Bartram Trail High School, he rose as high as No. 62 in the world after winning on the DP World Tour, posting a tie for 19th in the 2018 PGA Championship and tying for eighth at the Houston Open. He's been battling injuries since he played at Duke. 

Danny Walker, Jacksonville: A University of Virginia graduate, he considered a career in astrophysics instead of golf. He also worked at a Bahama Breeze in 2021 — a restaurant career that lasted two weeks. 

Thomas Walsh, Jacksonville: Another in a steady of stream of former University of Virginia players who are making noise, he's off to a solid start and was 20th on the Korn Ferry points list in mid-April. 

Jared Wolfe, Nocatee: He won twice in the 2020 Korn Ferry Tour season and is still slugging it out at the age of 36 after 14 professional seasons. One aspiration is to appear on the Food Network.  

PGA Tour Champions 

David Duval, Jacksonville native: Now living near Denver, Duval still holds the distinction of having won the most PGA Tour titles (13) of any Florida native. He was the No. 1 player in the world during a stretch in 1999 when he won The Players Championship, two months after becoming the first player to shoot 59 in the final round to win a PGA Tour title at the Bob Hope Classic. Duval won the 2001 Open Championship and had several near-misses in other majors, notably in the 1998 and 2001 Masters. 

Fred Funk, Jacksonville: The short-hitting but accurate Maryland native won eight PGA Tour titles, highlighted by the 2005 Players Championship, and nine PGA Tour Champions crowns, including three senior majors. 

Jim Furyk, Jacksonville: Furyk has been among the most productive PGA Tour players of his era, winning 17 times. He won the 2003 U.S. Open at Olympia Fields and the 2010 FedEx Cup and is the only player to ever break 60 twice in Tour events. He holds the record for the lowest 18-hole score with a 58 at the 2016 Travelers. He will be the U.S. Presidents Cup captain at Royal Montreal in September and hosts the Constellation Furyk & Friends at the Timuquana Country Club. 

Frank Lickliter II, Ponte Vedra Beach: He won twice on the PGA Tour and posted two top 10 finishes in The Players in 2001 and 2004. 

Davis Love III, St. Simons Island, Ga.: Love's 20 PGA Tour victories, two Players Championships and the 1997 PGA title landed him in the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2017. He has hosted the Tour's RSM Classic at the Sea Island Resort since 2010. 

Len Mattiace, Jacksonville: Mattiace won the Florida state high school title in 1984 at Nease and played at Wake Forest when he helped the Deacons win the 1986 national championship. He won PGA Tour titles at the Genesis Invitational and St. Jude Classic and lost the 2003 Masters in a playoff to Mike Weir. 

Blaine McCallister, Jacksonville: A native of Texas and one of the first PGA Tour players to move to the First Coast, McCallister won five times on the Tour from 1988-1993, led by the 1989 Cognizant Classic when he beat Payne Stewart by four shots. He played at the University of Houston with Fred Couples and Jim Nantz. 

Vijay Singh , Ponte Vedra Beach: One of the best rags-to-riches stories in golf history. The native of Fiji was a club professional in Borneo, qualified for the European PGA Tour, then caught fire in America and went on to win 34 PGA Tour titles, three majors (1998 and 2004 PGA, 2000 Masters) and has added five Champions Tour titles. He's still got some gas in tank, making the cut at the Masters last month at the age of 61.  

Auston Kim, St. Augustine: The Nease graduate and past Times-Union high school player of the year earned her LPGA Tour card off last year's Epson Tour. 

Amelia Lewis, Jacksonville: Lewis graduated from Bolles and turned professional in 2010 after a half-season at Florida. She's held dual status on the LPGA and Ladies European Tour and is attempting a comeback on the Epson Tour, where she posted three top-25 finishes in her first three 2024 starts. 

Jessica Porvasnik, Jacksonville: An Ohio State graduate, Porvasnik won the PXG Women's Match Play at the Slammer & Squire in 2021 and is now playing on the Epson Tour. 

Mel Reid, Atlantic Beach: Reid is a native of England and a veteran of the LET, where he has won six times. She captured her first LPGA Tour title in 2020 at the ShopRite Classic. 

Challengers: Could Zendaya’s tennis husband hack the ATP Challenger Tour?

While the best tennis players in the world battle in one of the year’s most important tournaments in Madrid, the sport’s parallel universes align.

A whole bunch of top players are battling in the equivalent of baseball’s minor leagues in another part of Spain, in Italy and in France. They are playing Challengers.

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You know where this is going.

There’s this tennis movie that isn’t really a tennis movie called “Challengers,” in which Zendaya stars as Tashi Donaldson. She’s the wife and coach of one of the world’s best players, but she was once the next big thing.

Then she got hurt and had to settle for coaching her partner to the top. 

Now he’s in a slump ahead of the U.S. Open. So she gets him to sign up for the Phil’s Tire Town Challenger tournament, where they go up against her husband’s former best friend, who was also once Tashi’s boyfriend.

There’s some history there. Let’s leave it at that.

While basically everyone leaves the theater thinking about love triangles and threesomes, the minds of tennis heads drift to the dynamics of their sport, where top players really do show up in the tournaments which are, on paper, below their standing in the global game.

Challengers is not a tennis movie — but Zendaya has something big to say about the sport

Friday, May 3, Tomas Martin Etcheverry of Argentina, a top 30 player who nobody wants to face during the first week of a Grand Slam, was taking on world No 77 Arthur Rinderknech of the Netherlands at a Challenger tournament in Aix-En Provence in France.

Days before, Etcheverry had lost to Canada’s Denis Shapovalov in Madrid.

Frances Tiafoe, a second-round loser to Pedro Cachin of Argentina (the guy who asked Nadal for his shirt after their match two days later), was trying to grind out wins at the Sardegna Open in Cagliari. It didn’t go well for the 2022 U.S. Open semi-finalist, who was the top seed but lost 6-1, 7-5 to Federico Coria.

Italians Fabio Fognini — another former top 10 player — and Lorenzo Musetti, world No 29 in the rankings and a guy who is supposed to rival Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner in the future, were on home turf. O n the women’s side, Emma Navarro, world No 23 and climbing but less than a week after a third-round loss in Madrid, was seeking form in Lleida, Spain, in the WTA quasi-equivalent of a Challenger, a “125 event”. 

This is happening a lot nowadays, even though the tournaments usually have all the glitz and glamor that Phil’s Tire Town offers — which is to say, none. Their appeal to these kinds of players is, instead, part necessity and part invention, going in tandem with the effort by the ATP and WTA to elevate the Masters 1000 tournaments , which are one level below a Grand Slam event.

Inside tennis' corridors of power: A fractured hall of mirrors where nothing is as it seems

By expanding their draws and duration from a week to 12 days, the tours have sold more tickets and created more days of prime tournament television content. They have also poked some holes in top players’ schedules if they lose in early rounds.

Take Tiafoe, who showed up in Madrid the weekend before the midweek start of the tournament. Because the top 32 players get a first-round bye, he waited nearly a week to play his first match, which he lost to Cachin. His next scheduled tournament, the Italian Open, was still at least 10 days away. He was suddenly looking at a vacuum of a fortnight while 3,500 miles away from home. So off to Cagliari he went — with the luxury of a wildcard — along with mainstays like Musetti, compatriot Lorenzo Sonego, and fellow American Chris Eubanks.

The increasing frequency of this scenario creates a dilemma for the players who live these events. If players like Tiafoe et al miss the glamor of a roofed stadium, huge crowds or just somewhere to change that isn’t a portable toilet, then their opponents are trying for a taste of that rarefied air. Their routes in are winning — and winning a lot — on a Challenger Tour that is getting more and more competitive, or being blessed by the capricious wild-card system, whose sense of arbitrary glory is dimmed by a combination of soft nationalism, draw-stacking, and the influence of companies such as IMG, which both run tournaments and represent talent.

Karue Sell, a tennis personality of some renown on YouTube who has returned to the pro game at 30 and is winning matches at the Porto Alegre Challenger in Brazil right now, says more wild cards should go to players who are in a rich vein of form on that tour, where the conditions (he’s not a fan of the balls in Brazil) and level of talent are a grind. Winning for two weeks is enough for a Grand Slam; why shouldn’t it be enough to get you into one?

How to fix tennis

Bernard Tomic, the Australian hot-headed tennis enigma, raised some eyebrows a few years ago when he said that there was little difference between a player ranked 60th and another ranked 250th.

He would not find a lot of people arguing today, at least in the men’s game.

Top players can drop down with little friction and going the other way is not so easy, but that doesn’t mean the elite are having it their own way. Improved competition has made lesser players better and the margins between rankings smaller.

Dominic Thiem, the 2020 U.S. Open champion who has struggled to get through a recurring wrist injury and motivational challenges, has spent plenty of weeks trying to find form on the Challenger Tour. It’s not gone well. Thiem is 2-3 in three Challenger events since November. Naomi Osaka, another former Grand Slam champion, was applauded for dropping down to play a WTA 250 (not even a Challenger) in Rouen because it showed seriousness about winning matches, the implication being that she was giving herself a chance to beat some also-rans. She lost in the round of 32.

“Everybody is playing really good tennis nowadays,” said Thiago Monteiro, a 29-year-old Brazilian.

Monteiro should know. He has spent much of his career bouncing between Challenger tournaments and the ATP Tour. He recently lost twice in eight days to someone named Orlando Luz, a 26-year-old Brazilian currently 333rd in the rankings, who has never climbed higher than world No 272.

Then Monteiro beat Stefanos Tsitispas, the world No 7, in Madrid’s second round, even though Tsitsipas had just made the final in Barcelona after winning the Monte Carlo Masters . Tsitispas knew he’d let down his guard against someone hungry and capable. He had forgotten the any-given-day dynamic every tennis player must respect.

Cachin, who beat Tiafoe then pushed Nadal to three sets, has had a similar trajectory to Monteiro, logging plenty of weeks at Challenger events across the world the past decade. He said the only real difference between solid ATP Tour players and those he faces in the Challenger events is consistency.

Plenty of players can raise their level for a set or three, or even five with a top player. They serve hard, rip forehands, and have moments of exquisite touch. They can look like superheroes on a practice court. But their bodies and brains don’t allow it day after day, tournament after tournament, year after year. 

“Can you be there all the time?” Cachin asked after his loss to Nadal. 

Most can’t, which is why they are eating bad food, staying in bad hotels and struggling to break even, knowing they might be one or two good weeks away from the big show. And nothing excites them more, Monteiro said, than when a top player shows up with his fancy bag and designer shirts, sleeves patched with the names of blue-chip companies. Here comes a chance to prove to themselves and the dozen or so people watching in the bleachers that they have the goods, at least for a few hours.

Monteiro said he has felt it from both sides, salivating at chances to play someone like Thiem on any court, at any time, while knowing that, as one of the top players in Brazil, he has a massive target on his back if he plays a home Challenger.

“ Didn’t do really well,” he said the other day in Madrid, still a bit haunted by the memory of losses in Sao Leo and Florianopolis in Brazil and Oeiras in Portugal.

“Everybody wants also to beat me.”

(Top photo: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images; Niko Tavernise/Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures; Mike Lawrence/ATP Tour)

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Matthew Futterman is an award-winning veteran sports journalist and the author of two books, “Running to the Edge: A Band of Misfits and the Guru Who Unlocked the Secrets of Speed” and “Players: How Sports Became a Business.”Before coming to The Athletic in 2023, he worked for The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Star-Ledger of New Jersey and The Philadelphia Inquirer. He is currently writing a book about tennis, "The Cruelest Game: Agony, Ecstasy and Near Death Experiences on the Pro Tennis Tour," to be published by Doubleday in 2026. Follow Matthew on Twitter @ mattfutterman