Lisbon venue's long-awaited return to Portugal's flagship event crowns a tournament-record champion

PGA Aroeira Lisboa brought the curtain down on a landmark week after Sebastian Friedrichsen produced a tournament-record performance to win the Open de Portugal, the country's flagship professional golf tournament, on the resort's PGA Aroeira No.1 course.

The 23-year-old Dane closed with a brilliant final round to finish on 28-under-par, three strokes clear of the field, to seal his maiden HotelPlanner Tour title in front of galleries at the historic Lisbon venue, which welcomed the Open de Portugal for the first time in three decades. Scot Marc Warren, the leader going into the final day, finished second ahead of Julien Sale with Matthew Southgate and MJ Daffue completing the top five.

“It feels great," said Friedrichsen. Having played his way into contention with a string of back-nine birdies, the Dane closed out the tournament in style to move into the top ten of the Road to Mallorca Rankings with the season entering its closing stages.

Created in 1953, the Open de Portugal is one of the oldest events in European golf and was part of the founding schedule of the European Tour in 1972. It remained on the main tour until 2010 and is now part of the HotelPlanner Tour, a feeder to the DP World Tour.

This year’s tournament included a strong line-up from home and abroad, with top Portuguese players Tomás Melo Gouveia, Tomás Bessa and Pedro Figueiredo joined by the likes of DP World Tour regulars Southgate, Daffue, Warren, England’s Tom Lewis and Yannik Paul from Germany. In addition, the tournament also featured two-time Masters winner José María Olazábal, who returned to the Open de Portugal to caddie for his nephew Joseba Torres 29 years after competing as a player in 1997.

Designed by Frank Pennink and meandering through tall avenues of pine forest and surrounded by wildlife, PGA Aroeira No.1 – which opened in 1973 and is situated 30 minutes outside Lisbon – is considered one of the best layouts in continental Europe. Like its younger sibling PGA Aroeira 2, the course has undergone a significant recent maintenance programme to enhance the golf-course experience being offered to members and guests.

Nuno Sepulveda, co-CEO at Details – Sports, Hospitality, Leisure, PGA Aroeira Lisboa's management company, said: “It has been an honour to welcome the Open de Portugal back to Aroeira 30 years on from our first staging of the tournament, and to see it deliver a week of this quality and excitement only reinforces what we always believed this venue was capable of hosting. The standard of golf on show, and the record set by Sebastian Friedrichsen, will live long in the memory, and we're proud of the role PGA Aroeira Lisboa played in making it happen for players, fans and the wider destination alike.”

Beyond the leaderboard, tournament week brought a series of activations to PGA Aroeira Lisboa. At the par-four fourth hole, amateur players took on the Beat the Pro challenge, tasked with matching or besting a professional's tee shot – a feat that proved beyond every participant across the week.

Elsewhere, Aroeira Collections by Missoni welcomed visitors to a dedicated space at Aroeira Village throughout the tournament, where design, lifestyle and golf came together in a relaxed setting. Featuring an exclusive lounge, a mini-golf experience and a series of interactive activations, the space offered guests the chance to discover the brand's vision for its forthcoming residential project at Herdade da Aroeira, with a five per cent discount on the acquisition price available until September 30.

‘Jardim Engomado’, an ESG activation developed in partnership with CERCIZIMBRA, saw the planting of native species and the restoration of green areas at PGA Aroeira Lisboa. Bringing together environmental stewardship and social inclusion, the initiative engaged participants from the organisation, helping to create a positive legacy that will continue to grow long after the final putt was played.

The activation reflected a broader commitment that ran throughout tournament week, with a range of initiatives reflecting responsible practices, from preserving the natural environment of PGA Aroeira to engaging with the local community and showcasing local artisans, producers and traditions. PGA Aroeira, supported by Details and Ecoterrae, also implemented ESG measures across the Open de Portugal to achieve sustainable-event certification and establish measurable commitments for future editions, aiming to create a positive impact beyond the fairways and leave a lasting legacy for the region and its people.

The success of this 64^th edition of Open de Portugal was underpinned by a network of partners. Arrow Global, PGA Aroeira Lisboa and Federação Portuguesa de Golf were joined by Aroeira Collection by Missoni, Entidade Regional de Turismo da Região de Lisboa, Câmara Municipal de Almada, Portugal Golf, 3cket, Lusíadas Saúde, Vista Alegre, Avila Spaces, Road to Malloca, Instituto Português de DEsporto e Juventude, Reservations.ai, Nevada Bob’s Golf, Cigala, Strong Charon, Amarsul, Ava by CR7, C.Santos VP and Golf tattoo. Media partners included RTP, Cision, Sport.tv and Record.

Details – Sports, Hospitality, Leisure – took over the management of PGA Aroeira Lisboa three years ago and the resort is one of 14 golf venues in the portfolio of Portugal’s largest golf course operator.

In addition to significantly improving the golf facilities, further investment will include the opening of the Aroeira Collections Hotel which, set to open in 2027 and offering 138 one and two-bedroom apartments, will sit in the centre of the resort’s two championship courses and be a major boost for Portuguese tourism and the local economy.

For more details about PGA Aroeira Lisboa, please visit pgaaroeira.com

ENDS

Information for journalists

Press release written and distributed on behalf of PGA Aroeira Lisboa by The Azalea Group.

For further information and high-resolution imagery, please contact Pete Simm at Azalea on 0044 1730 711920 or email petes@theazaleagroup.com

About PGA Aroeira Lisboa

Situated 25km south of the Portuguese capital, PGA Aroeira Lisboa's golf courses are nestled amid natural pine forest, and the idyllic setting has led to the award-winning resort being nicknamed the 'Wentworth of Lisbon' by many observers. The only PGA National venue in Portugal, the 36-hole resort is home to two championship courses, PGA Aroeira No.1, designed by Frank Pennink, and PGA Aroeira No.2, designed by Donald Steel.

About Details – Hospitality, Sports, Leisure

DETAILS – Hospitality, Sports & Leisure is an asset management platform responsible for overseeing a diversified portfolio of hospitality and sports assets across Portugal and Italy. The company currently manages 28 hospitality projects, both operational and under development, including Hyatt Regency Vilamoura Algarve, Hilton Vilamoura, Palmares Beach House Hotel and Signature Apartments, as well as The Pearl Tróia, The Anchor Tróia and Troia Residences.

In the sports and leisure segment, DETAILS owns the largest portfolio of golf courses in Portugal, including Vilamoura's iconic courses such as Old Course Vilamoura, Pinhal, Millennium, Laguna and The Els Club Vilamoura, the Algarve's first private golf course and the first Ernie Els club in Europe. The portfolio also includes the courses at PGA Aroeira Lisboa, as well as Palmares, Vale Pisão, Tróia Golf, Monte Rei and San Lorenzo. In Italy, DETAILS manages two golf courses under the Costa Ragusa Golf brand.

The sports asset portfolio further includes, in Vilamoura, Brown's Sports Centre, the Equestrian Centre, and a Sports Centre currently under development.