World Corporate Golf Challenge

The title of national champion of the World Corporate Golf Challenge Portugal 2023 now belongs to the Turkish Airlines group, after a competition that stretched over five phases, between February and July, in various parts of the country. The national final took place at the Royal Óbidos Spa & Golf Resort, in the year in which the World Corporate Golf Challenge (WCGC) celebrates its thirtieth anniversary. This will be followed shortly by the World Final of the WCGC, which will take place in October on the Spanish island of Tenerife, at Golf Costa Adeje.

The Portuguese edition of the World Corporate Golf Challenge opened its new season on February 25 at Amendoeira Golf Resort in the Algarve, where the first round of the world’s largest corporate tournament took place. The tournament was attended by 64 players, who didn’t let the unfavourable weather conditions get them down, and who, in general, posted positive scores at the end of the round, with over 60 Stableford Net points. It should be remembered that in this WCGC Portugal, although the Gross result is crucial, it is the Net classification that rules and paves the way to the winner’s status in each qualifying round. So, after a demanding competition, the winning Net team was Ideias Impulsivas, which won the Costa Verde Trophy after beating Padaria Trigo Bom by just one point. In total, six companies progressed to the next stage, with Alexandre Cristina and Sérgio Cristina, the golfers from Ideais Impulsivas, coming out on top with 67 points. It was thus a demanding day dedicated to golf, but with other attractions provided by the event’s organisers, Golf Concept.

The second and third qualifying rounds took place in Setúbal on May 19 and 20 at the Quinta do Perú course. The competition comprised 136 players, all grouped into 68 teams from different regions. As well as competing for the title of national champion, those present were also focussed on the WCGC Ranking, which qualifies six groups for the national final by accumulating points from each qualifying stage. In total, three companies qualified in Net and three in Gross. During the two days spent in a competitive atmosphere, there was a show cooking session by chef Pedro Gaspar and tastings of cured ham, croissants and other appetisers, so there was no shortage of stimulating activities, also accompanied by magazines from media partners, such as V&G. Without further ado, the winner of the 2nd stage was announced, and the PM-GUIDANCE team, made up of André Holtreman Roquette and Paul Brand, emerged victorious with 69 points. THEMUDO TELECOM was the winner of Stage 3, made up of father and son João Pedro and Lourenço Themudo. With several gifts in a bag, the players then said goodbye to Sesimbra, preparing for what was to come.

On June 03, the challenge began at the Axis Ponte de Lima golf course, in the north of the country. Winning the title in Portugal’s oldest town was V&G, represented by Sérgio Magalhães and José Domingos Alves. The 69 points were achieved in a competition that brought together 34 teams, in which tension was at its peak as the final and decisive stage approached.  
For the penultimate stage of the WCGC, the golfers had to fly to the island of Madeira, putting their skills into practice at the Santo da Serra Golf Club. The 30 groups enjoyed a challenging round on June 17, under excellent weather conditions. The Alberto Mora Galiana S.A. team came out triumphant, totalling 75 points, a feat achieved by Guillermo Mestre Mas and Manuel Mestre Baviera. Taking advantage of the occasion, Audi decided to present its Audi Q4 Etron, Audi Q5 and Audi A3 Sport Back models. Following the WCGC Portugal 2023 Ranking, six more companies were also chosen to complete the total of 36 teams that would be present at the national final.

Turkish Airlines is the WCGC national champion 

Finally, July 08 arrived and the destination, the Royal Óbidos Golf & SPA Resort in the Oeste region. Alexandre Castelo and Miguel Morais took Turkish Airlines to the status of WCGC Portugal 2023 national champions, which means that they will soon be landing in Tenerife to represent the country in the world final. The competitive quality of the remaining groups proved to be up to the challenge, as evidenced by the average single digit handicap of most of the teams. The lowest score was 27 points, which, given the difficulty of the course, is remarkably good. Several partners were present with activities, accompanied by show cooking and SPIN BY NECTAR, a tombola consisting of various prizes. Ingredients that attract golfers year after year.
The national final bid farewell to golf lovers for this year in a festive atmosphere on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the World Corporate Golf Challenge, although a challenge on a grander scale is looming: the world final, to be held October 02-06, in Tenerife at Golf Costa Adeje.