Remember the name Pedro Figueiredo. Portugal’s hopes of ending one of the worst droughts in European golf history could rest squarely on his 17-year-old shoulders.
Figueiredo raised Portuguese fortunes Feb. 24 when he won the Portuguese Amateur Championship by two shots. The victory confirmed expectations first raised in 2004.
Figueiredo traveled to Conwy Golf Club in North Wales that year to compete in the British Boys Championship. He was a lanky 14-year-old with ill-fitting shoes who made it to the fifth round before losing to eventual winner Jordan Findlay.
Those five matches were enough to convince all that this was one kid worth looking out for.
That Figueiredo played in that ‘04 tournament was a bit unique considering Portuguese amateurs don’t exactly fill the British Boys field every year.
Each season the Spanish Golf Federation sends a large team to the British Boys Championship, yet Portuguese amateurs are as rare as a Tiger Woods double bogey. Figueiredo was the lone Portuguese player that year against 16 Spaniards.
Last year, Figueiredo had company as Portugal tripled its involvement. Spain, meanwhile, sent 19 youngsters.
The British Boys has played its part in nurturing young Spanish talent through the years; six Spaniards have won the title.
No wonder Spain has produced such great players over the years, given how it cultivates young talent. The names Ballesteros, Olazabal and Garcia spearhead a Ryder Cup list that includes the likes of Jose Maria Canizares, Manuel Pinero, Miguel Angel Jimenez and Ignacio Garrido.
Yet scan the Ryder Cup lists for Portuguese involvement, and you’ll be disappointed. It’s the same when you look at Portugal’s impact on the European Tour.
There is only one Portuguese national on the European Tour right now, compared to 13 Spaniards. I use the term “national”, since I refer to José-Filipe Lima.
Lima was born in France and learned to play the game at Saint-Nom-La-Breteche in Versailles. He represented France as an amateur, but adopted his parents’ Portuguese nationality a few years ago.
It gets marginally better on the European Challenge Tour, but even that picture does nothing to suggest we are about to see a Portuguese resurgence. Last year’s money list (not enough events have been played this year to provide a true picture) showed 18 Spaniards on the junior European circuit compared to just three Portuguese players.
As for bona-fide Portuguese success stories on the European Tour, you have to scroll back to Daniel Silva’s 1992 Jersey Open win. That was one of two good years Silva had on the European Tour. In 1991, he placed 75th on the European money list, 69th the year he won in Jersey, then dropped off the face of European golf.
Silva finished 197th in 1993 when he made only three of 24 cuts. A few years later, Silva had disappeared off the tour for good.
That Portugal should lag so far behind Spain is one of Europe’s continuing mysteries. This tiny nation shares the Iberian Peninsula with Spain and matches its illustrious neighbor with a number of quality courses that attract many visitors.
Unfortunately, that is part of the problem. Traveling golfers willing to pay high green fees have kept the royal & ancient game out of the budget of most Portuguese people.
A similar dynamic existed in Spain - still does, to a certain extent - but somehow the Spaniards managed to produce a wealth of talent. Portugal, meanwhile, has done little to foster young talent.
But Figueiredo could be the one to begin to lead Portugal out of the golfing wilderness.
Posted: 2/26/2008
print
email
discuss
