Welcome to Portugal Masters - Golf Event

Spain�s Alvaro Quiros won the Portugal Masters at the Oce�nico Victoria Golf Course in Vilamoura after holding off a determined challenge from Europe�s form player, Robert Karlsson.

The 25 year old from Cadiz pocketed the �500,000 winner�s cheque - the largest of his career - after a final round 68 for a 19 under par total and immediately dedicated his win to Seve Ballesteros, recovering in hospital from an operation to remove a brain tumour.







"My caddy told me that Seve always wanted to beat everybody and today I drew inspiration from thinking about the way he played his golf,� said Quiros. "Seve was and still is a personal inspiration for all of the Spaniards and we wish him well. Today was a tough day for me with the long game. But with the short game, I kind of stopped and remembered him, you know, when he made chip and putts and wonderful recoveries.

"Seve played in a different way of the rest of the world. He was something special. He was playing more with the heart than the real game, and today was one of those days. We think you have two ways to do the birdies: The easy way, driver, green, one putt; and the other one is drive, I don't know where, chip, I don't know where, and a good putt, and this is the way that I played today."

European Order of Merit leader Karlsson, who had begun the final round only a shot behind the Spaniard, had to settle for a share of third place after carding a 71.

Karlsson conceded second spot to Scotland�s Paul Lawrie after The 1999 Open Champion holed a 30 foot birdie putt on the last for a 67 to finish three strokes behind the winner.

Quiros, however, took the title in some style, calmly sinking a five foot birdie putt on the 18th green.

He said: �Well, you can imagine how happy I am right now. It's been a really tough year for me. This is like a little help.�

The Spaniard is one of the biggest hitters on Tour, but it is not only his length that will attract golf fans across Europe but his engaging sense of humour, which was evident from the first tee when he starting cracking jokes with his two playing partners.

He had to get up early in to complete his third round after a thunderstorm forced play to be abandoned early last night. And in completing five holes he moved one shot ahead of the field.

It was an advantage he did not hold onto for long when, after outrageously birdieing the opening hole with a 50 foot putt, he immediately bogeyed the second. It was the start of an afternoon when the lead was to change hands regularly.

A birdie at the second took Ross Fisher to the top of the leaderboard and after an early dropped shot, Karlsson then produced three birdies on the trot.

But the tournament was finally sorted on the back nine as Fisher dropped back with a run of three successive bogeys and Karlsson found water at the 17th.

Lawrie, who produced his best tournament finish for three years, had previously only managed one top ten finish this year but after signing for a final round 67, he sounded very relieved, saying: �It feels great to be competitive again.�

Karlsson, who extended his lead at the top of the Order of Merit over Padraig Harrington to �297,424, said: �I did my part and I didn't play that well today, so there we go. But I had a chance up until the 17th where I hit a poor shot, but it's been one of those weeks where I haven't hit the ball great, and when it's been in between it's just been a bit, and I've had a few indifferent shots.�

For Quiros, he returns home to Spain for next week's CASTELLO MASTERS Costa Azuhar and then the Volvo Masters at Valderrama, next to his home town and there there is now a place in the HSBC Champions in Shanghai.

Portugal Masters Course Details

Victoria Course Information
Opened � 2000
Course Designer � Arnold Palmer
General Playability - Fast and tricky greens. Good putting will be the key.
Undulating/ flat - Very flat
Tree lined/exposed - Very exposed
Many / few water hazards - 4 lakes coming n to play in 7 holes
Changes to the course - Over seeded with Ryegrass in September

Greens
Type of grass - L 93 Bent grass
Height of cut - 3mm
Speed/stimp reading � 10.5 on Monday of Tournament week
Any specific comments �- Very undulated greens.

Fairways
Type of grass � Bermuda 419 over seeded with Ryegrass
Height of cut � 13mm
General width and contouring � Average width
Any specific comments - A lot of fairway bunkers

Tees
Type of grass � Bermuda 419 over seeded with Ryegrass
Height of cut - 12mm
Any specific comments -

Collars
Type of grass - Collars ( L93)
Height of cut � 8mm
Any specific comments -

Rough
Type of grass � Ryegrass
Semi-rough - Height of cut � 32mm
Intermediate Height of cut � 64mm
Rough - Height of cut � 90mm
Any specific comments �

Weather
In advance � Dry, hot and windy
Forecast - Good, come clouds and very windy

Other Features
Host the World Cup on 2005. One of the 5 courses at Vilamoura.

Portugal Masters 2008 Final Results and Prize Money
 

Pos	Name	Country	To Par	R1	R2	R3	R4	Total	Prize Money
1	QUIROS  Alvaro	ESP	-19	66	68	67	68	269	�  500000.00
2	LAWRIE Paul	SCO	-16	70	65	70	67	272	�  333330.00
3	FISHER Ross	ENG	-15	67	70	65	71	273	�  155000.00
3	KARLSSON Robert	SWE	-15	69	67	66	71	273	�  155000.00
3	WEBSTER Steve	ENG	-15	72	67	66	68	273	�  155000.00
6	KINGSTON James	RSA	-14	69	71	64	70	274	�  105000.00
7	BOURDY Gr�gory	FRA	-13	69	67	68	71	275	�  77400.00
7	DYSON  Simon	ENG	-13	71	69	67	68	275	�  77400.00
7	HANSEN S�ren	DEN	-13	73	65	65	72	275	�  77400.00
10	MCILROY  Rory	NIR	-12	69	69	69	69	276	�  55600.00
10	WALL Anthony	ENG	-12	72	66	70	68	276	�  55600.00
10	WOOD  Chris	ENG	-12	73	70	68	65	276	�  55600.00
13	MCLARDY Andrew	RSA	-11	67	75	66	69	277	�  48300.00
14	LYNN David	ENG	-10	70	69	68	71	278	�  45000.00
14	MANLEY Stuart	WAL	-10	65	68	73	72	278	�  45000.00
16	DERKSEN Robert-Jan	NED	-9	71	68	67	73	279	�  38940.00
16	DREDGE Bradley	WAL	-9	70	70	67	72	279	�  38940.00
16	KJELDSEN S�ren	DEN	-9	67	74	72	66	279	�  38940.00
16	NOREN  Alexander	SWE	-9	71	69	67	72	279	�  38940.00
16	WESTWOOD Lee	ENG	-9	72	67	72	68	279	�  38940.00
21	HOUSTON Garry	WAL	-8	73	66	73	68	280	�  34350.00
21	WALKER Sam	ENG	-8	67	73	69	71	280	�  34350.00
23	AGUILAR Felipe	CHI	-7	68	68	72	73	281	�  30300.00
23	CABRERA Angel	ARG	-7	73	69	66	73	281	�  30300.00
23	CLARKE Darren	NIR	-7	72	69	74	66	281	�  30300.00
23	ERLANDSSON Martin	SWE	-7	67	73	73	68	281	�  30300.00
23	FOSTER Mark	ENG	-7	66	71	73	71	281	�  30300.00
23	LAWRIE Peter	IRL	-7	72	69	71	69	281	�  30300.00
23	ORR Gary	SCO	-7	74	68	68	71	281	�  30300.00
30	CARLSSON  Magnus A	SWE	-6	69	66	72	75	282	�  23775.00
30	DIXON David	ENG	-6	72	69	72	69	282	�  23775.00
30	HOWELL David	ENG	-6	74	70	67	71	282	�  23775.00
30	KAYMER Martin	GER	-6	72	65	73	72	282	�  23775.00
30	LUCQUIN Jean-Fran�ois	FRA	-6	67	69	73	73	282	�  23775.00
30	RANDHAWA Jyoti	IND	-6	66	70	74	72	282	�  23775.00
30	WARING  Paul	ENG	-6	71	71	68	72	282	�  23775.00
30	WARREN Marc	SCO	-6	68	73	70	71	282	�  23775.00
38	DONALDSON Jamie	WAL	-5	69	70	74	70	283	�  19800.00
38	FISHER  Oliver	ENG	-5	73	71	71	68	283	�  19800.00
38	JIM�NEZ Miguel Angel	ESP	-5	73	71	69	70	283	�  19800.00
38	MOLINARI Francesco	ITA	-5	72	72	71	68	283	�  19800.00
42	GREEN Richard	AUS	-4	71	69	72	72	284	�  17700.00
42	MCDOWELL  Graeme	NIR	-4	67	74	73	70	284	�  17700.00
42	PRICE Phillip	WAL	-4	69	70	74	71	284	�  17700.00
45	ARRUTI Jesus Maria	ESP	-3	69	72	72	72	285	�  15900.00
45	EDFORS Johan	SWE	-3	70	71	72	72	285	�  15900.00
45	HANSON Peter	SWE	-3	73	69	70	73	285	�  15900.00
48	BICKERTON John	ENG	-2	71	73	69	73	286	�  13500.00
48	GALLACHER Stephen	SCO	-2	69	71	72	74	286	�  13500.00
48	GONZALEZ Ricardo	ARG	-2	72	70	72	72	286	�  13500.00
48	LAFEBER Maarten	NED	-2	74	68	73	71	286	�  13500.00
48	MURPHY Gary	IRL	-2	69	74	68	75	286	�  13500.00
53	LEVET Thomas	FRA	-1	71	73	73	70	287	�  11100.00
53	ROCK Robert	ENG	-1	72	72	72	71	287	�  11100.00
53	SJ�LAND Patrik	SWE	-1	72	72	69	74	287	�  11100.00
56	FROST David	RSA	Par	69	72	73	74	288	�  9400.00
56	NYSTR�M Henrik	SWE	Par	70	73	73	72	288	�  9400.00
56	VELASCO Alvaro	ESP	Par	73	71	73	71	288	�  9400.00
59	HAVRET  Gr�gory	FRA	+2	71	71	71	77	290	�  8400.00
59	SIEM  Marcel	GER	+2	68	71	73	78	290	�  8400.00
59	SOBRINHO Ant�nio	POR	+2	70	73	73	74	290	�  8400.00
62	ECHENIQUE Rafa	ARG	+3	72	71	71	77	291	�  7800.00
63	DOUGHERTY  Nick	ENG	+4	70	70	73	79	292	�  7350.00
63	GONNET  Jean-Baptiste	FRA	+4	73	71	74	74	292	�  7350.00
65	BEBB Sion E	WAL	+5	68	74	72	79	293	�  6600.00
65	DINWIDDIE  Robert	ENG	+5	72	68	72	81	293	�  6600.00
65	SANDELIN Jarmo	SWE	+5	73	69	74	77	293	�  6600.00
68	STORM  Graeme	ENG	+7	69	69	72	85	295	�  6000.00
69	JACQUELIN Rapha�l	FRA	+9	72	69	73	83	297	�  5585.00
69	LANE Barry	ENG	+9	68	70	78	81	297	�  5585.00
71	ANDERSSON HED Fredrik	SWE	+1	73	72			145
71	BJ�RN Thomas	DEN	+1	73	72			145
71	BROADHURST Paul	ENG	+1	71	74			145
71	DODD Stephen	WAL	+1	76	69			145
71	EDBERG Pelle	SWE	+1	74	71			145
71	FASTH Niclas	SWE	+1	75	71			145
71	HEDBLOM Peter	SWE	+1	70	75			145
71	TUNNICLIFF Miles	ENG	+1	73	72			145
79	CARLOTA (AM) Joao	POR	+2	69	77			146
79	JONZON Michael	SWE	+2	75	71			146
79	KAPUR Shiv	IND	+2	72	74			146
79	PYMAN Iain	ENG	+2	72	74			146
79	WESTERBERG Leif	SWE	+2	72	74			146
84	ARCHER Phillip	ENG	+3	72	75			147
84	BARHAM Benn	ENG	+3	75	72			147
84	JAIDEE Thongchai	THA	+3	72	75			147
84	LIMA  Jos�-Filipe	POR	+3	75	72			147
84	LITTLE Sam	ENG	+3	72	75			147
84	LUNDBERG Mikael	SWE	+3	74	73			147
84	MARTIN  Pablo	ESP	+3	75	72			147
84	MOLINARI  Edoardo	ITA	+3	73	74			147
84	O'MALLEY Peter	AUS	+3	74	73			147
84	VAN DE VELDE Jean	FRA	+3	75	72			147
84	WIEGELE  Martin	AUT	+3	75	72			147
95	DRUMMOND Scott	SCO	+4	73	75			148
95	GARRIDO Ignacio	ESP	+4	77	71			148
95	KHAN Simon	ENG	+4	72	76			148
95	MCGRANE Damien	IRL	+4	75	73			148
95	SCHWARTZEL  Charl	RSA	+4	74	74			148
95	STERNE  Richard	RSA	+4	75	73			148
101	BROWN Mark	NZL	+5	76	73			149
101	LARA Jos� Manuel	ESP	+5	78	71			149
101	MONTGOMERIE  Colin	SCO	+5	73	76			149
101	RODILES Carlos	ESP	+5	77	72			149
101	SANTOS  Ricardo	POR	+5	74	75			149
101	WAKEFIELD Simon	ENG	+5	77	72			149
107	C�VA�R Christian	FRA	+6	73	77			150
107	SLATTERY Lee	ENG	+6	73	77			150
107	VANCSIK Daniel	ARG	+6	78	72			150
110	BRIER Markus	AUT	+7	77	74			151
110	CANETE Ariel	ARG	+7	78	73			151
110	FINCH  Richard	ENG	+7	74	77			151
110	GRIFFITHS  David	ENG	+7	75	76			151
110	SUNESON Carl	ESP	+7	78	73			151
110	VIOLAS (AM) Manuel	POR	+7	76	75			151
110	WHITEHOUSE  Tom	ENG	+7	75	76			151
117	CANONICA Emanuele	ITA	+9	75	78			153
117	DELAMONTAGNE  Fran�ois	FRA	+9	77	76			153
117	McGOWAN  Ross	ENG	+9	80	73			153
120	FOWLER Peter	AUS	+10	76	78			154
120	WOLSTENHOLME Gary	ENG	+10	75	79			154
122	CRUZ  Tiago	POR	+11	77	78			155
123	SANTOS  Hugo	POR	+13	78	79			157
124	CABRERA Federico	ARG	+14	78	80			158
125	LORENZO-VERA  Michael	FRA	Par	0	0			0
125	WILSON Oliver	ENG	Par	0	0			0