When the Els Club Vilamoura hosts the PGA TOUR Champions first ever Portugal Invitational strokeplay tournament in July 2026, it will become the seventh golf course in the Ernie Els Design portfolio to have staged a professional Tour event.
Ernie Els Design is a full-service design company with a portfolio of award-winning golf courses spread far and wide around the world. One of its latest creations – The Els Club Vilamoura, recipient of an Honorable Mention in this year’s Golf Inc. Renovation of the Year category – is all set to host the inaugural Portugal Invitational in July 2026. It is the TOUR’s first event of its type in continental Europe and a striking accolade for a golf course that opened for play only as recently as the summer of 2025.
“It has been exciting for us to bring our design philosophy to Portugal, working in partnership with our friends at Vilamoura and Arrow Global,” commented Ernie, who is in the field for the Portugal Invitational. “Golf course renovations present a unique challenge, aesthetically and strategically, and we always have an eye on what it is that makes a great championship course. The players are going to love it! It’s a great test, a very well balanced test, and obviously located in a beautiful part of the world. Another aspect of our design ethos is to make sure the golf course is an enjoyable and fair experience for the Club’s members. The feedback we’ve had since the course opened suggests we’ve succeeded in that regard. The course and the club’s facilities are as good as you will find anywhere in Europe.”
The Els Club Vilamoura is the seventh Ernie Els Design course to host a professional tour event, following: The Els Club Desaru Coast (back-to-back events on the MENA Tour in 2023), Albany in the Bahamas (The Hero World Challenge), The Els Club Dubai (Dubai Open Golf Championship), The Els Club Copperleaf (Tshwane Open), Anahita Mauritius (Mauritius Golf Masters and AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open) and Wentworth’s iconic West Course (BMW PGA Championship).
