Each month 10 names are randomly selected from all golfers that have used our online Booking Form. From these 10 golfers a second draw is made for the winner of the prize sponsored by Hotels Le Meridien ***** in the Algarve. The monthly prize includes a standard "weekend break accommodation" with breakfast for two in the Hotel specified, together with a round of golf for two guests on the course attached to the Hotel.

All of the 10 golfers of each month will be listed in our Newsletter and notified by separate e-mail. The nominated golfers who are were drawn for the month of October are listed below.

Allan Potts - Cyril Ward - Dag Juell Pettersen - Dave Drainer - Denis Collisan - Mark Kirrane - Mary Reynolds - Nathan Harris - Peter Riordan - Tim Joseph -

General News
It's been a big month for the Algarve, with two new courses being opened and the staging of the Portugal Masters.

Although the Quinta do Vale course has been playable for several months, the official opening was held only on 12th October. In view of his unfortunate health problems, the popular Seve Ballesteros and the designer of the course, was obviously unable to attend the festivities. On the golfing side, there was a Pro-Am tournament with an array of prizes for both the leading teams and pros.

Set in a valley leading down to the Guadiana River that divides Portugal and Spain, this course features a typical Seve distribution of par-3s, -4s and -5s, namely six of each. The first eleven holes are on relatively flat terrain with plenty of water hazards to make it interesting and the remaining holes are on rolling, slightly hilly land. The opening was attended by the Algarve Regional Governor, the Mayor of nearby Castro Marim, and the President of the Portuguese Golf Federation.

A few days prior to the Portugal Masters, 46 of the competing pros also played in a pro-am and an All Star Shoot Out as part of the new Oceânico Amendoeira Golf Resort launch programme. This is the resort that incorporates the Oceânico Faldo and O'Connor 18-hole courses, a 9-hole par-3 course, as well as a magnificent driving range and practice facilities. Pro-ams were played on both the O'Connor and Faldo courses and marked their official opening, with the charismatic Christy O'Connor, Jr. taking part. South African Andrew McLardy and Mikael Lundberg from Sweden were the winners of the respective Pro-Am events.

Most readers will have seen parts of the TV footage of the Portugal Masters but it was more exciting to be at the Oceânico Victoria course to see Spaniard Álvaro Quirós win his second PGA European Tour event and ward off surges by top-ranking players such as Robert Karlsson, Ross Fisher and Paul Lawrie. Also, Steve Webster made an inspired defence of the title he won at the inaugural Masters last year, by ending in a 3-way tie for third after his disappointing even-par opening round. After the abundance of low scores in 2007 such as Martin Kaymer's record breaking 61, the rough was grown deeper and thicker this year thus making recovery shots extremely difficult - especially around the greens. Lawrie's runner-up place was his best finish since 2005 and gave the 1999 Open winner some encouragement following a long lean spell.

In November we have the TAP Open, and now in its 31st year. About 300 players from most of the countries served by the Portuguese flagship airline will be taking part in the 72-hole strokeplay tournament from 8th-15th November over four of the Vilamoura courses.

The finals of the Bader Cup will be played once again at the Álamos Course at the Morgado resort near Portimão with the twelve mixed pairs who won the various regional qualifying tournaments throughout the UK. On the 11th of November, the visitors play a practice round ahead of the deciding Grand Finale the following day. This event is organised in order to raise monies for the Douglas Bader Foundation that exists to advance and promote the physical, mental and spiritual welfare of persons who are without one or more limbs, or, otherwise physically disabled.

As for the professionals, the Algarve will once again be host to the PGA European Seniors Tour qualifying school. After the first stage to be held at both the Quinta de Cima and Pinheiros Altos courses on 13th-14th November, the players with the leading scores go forward to the second and final 72-hole stage at the Pestana Vale da Pinta course where the top six players earn full playing privileges for the 2009 Tour, and those placed 7th to 14th will gain limited access to Seniors Tour events next year.

Robert Karlsson shot a final round of 65 and then defeated fellow World Top 50 players Ross Fisher and Martin Kaymer in a three-way play-off to take the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship at St Andrews. Fisher had also shot 65 and the pair were joined by Kaymer at the 10-under-par total as the German player closed with a 68. Karlsson moves to the Top of the European Tour Order of Merit and also into the World Top 10 for the first time with a ten place jump to Nº 8. Fisher moved to Nº 38th and Kaymer to Nº 34.

PGA Tour Rookie Dustin Johnson won the Turning Stone Resort Championship with a final round of 3-under-par 69 to edge out veteran Australian Robert Allenby by one shot. Johnson sank an eight-foot birdie putt on the final hole at Verona, near New York to pick up his maiden Tour win and to jump 202 places to Nº 155. Other winners that week were Toshinori Muto at the Coca-Cola Tokai Classic on the Japan Golf Tour, Bae Sang-moon at the Kolon-Hana Bank 51st Korea Open on the Asian Tour and Richard Ramsay at the AGF-Allianz Open de Toulouse on the Challenge Tour.

Spain’s Alvaro Quiros won the Portugal Masters at the Oceânico Victoria Golf Course in Vilamoura by three strokes from 1999 Open Champion Paul Lawrie. 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. This second win of his career  sees Quiros jumped 202 places to No 94.

Japan's Number One player Shingo Katayama won the Japan Open Golf Championship by a comfortable margin of four strokes finishing as the only player under par with his 283 (1-under-par) total. The win takes Katayama back into the World Top 50 as he climbed 18 places to Nº 43.

That week's other winners were Arjun Atwal at the Chattanooga Classic on the Nationwide Tour, Noh Seung-yul at the Midea China Classic on the Asian Tour and Taco Remkes, who picked up his third win of the season, at the Margara Diehl-Ako Platinum Open on the European Challenge Tour. Marc Turnesa shot a four-under-par 68 to win the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open on the PGA Tour. Turnesa finished at 25-under 263 to record the first PGA Tour victory of his career from Matt Kuchar who was a stroke back at 24 under par after a closing 67. The win took Turnesa to Nº 138, an improvement of 152 places.

The 2007 Masters Champion Zach Johnson fired a final round six-under-par 64 to claim a two-stroke victory at the Valero Texas Open. Johnson had seven birdies and a bogey to finish at 19-under-par 261, two strokes ahead of three players, Charlie Wi, Mark Wilson and Tim Wilkinson. Johnson climbed 11 places to Nº 33.

Charl Schwartzel won the Madrid Masters after producing a bogey free final round of 66 at Club de Campo Villa de Madrid for a 19-under-par total of 199. Two of the South African's three European Tour wins have now come in the Spanish Capital following his Spanish Open win last year. This victory took Schwartzel to Nº 66, an improvement of 31 places.

Makoto Inoue won the Canon Open on the Japan Golf Tour by a stroke from 4 players tied on second place. Inoue jumped 183 positions to Nº 243. That week's other winners were Marc Leishman at the WNB Golf Classic on the Nationwide Tour and Liang Wen-Chong at the Hero Honda Indian Open on the Asian Tour.