Ricardo Santos (born 7 September 1982) is a Portuguese professional golfer who plays on the Challenge Tour. He won the 2012 Madeira Islands Open.
Professional career Santos turned professional in 2006. From 2007 to 2011 he played regularly on the Challenge Tour.Challenge Tour - Players. Ricardo Santos: Career Details In 2007, he was given an invite to the Madeira Islands Open on the European Tour, and led after the first round.Santos claims early Madeira lead He began the 2011 season well, making nine of his first ten cuts, including seven top-15 finishes. He then recorded his first Challenge Tour victory at The Princess, which took him to the top of the tour rankings.Maiden title for Santos at The Princess He was the first Portuguese-born golfer to win at this level, as José-Filipe Lima and Daniel Silva, despite representing Portugal, were born in France and South Africa respectively. He eventually finished 2011 in fourth place in the Order of Merit to gain a place on the European Tour in 2012.
In 2012 Santos won on the European Tour for the first time, on home soil at the Madeira Islands Open. He was named the European Tour's 2012 Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year, finishing 90th in the Order of Merit. He had a good start to 2013 with five top-10 finishes between January and May. Despite a disappointing end to the season he finished 65th in the Order of Merit. 2014 was less successful and Santos finished 116th in the Order of Merit. In 2015 he split his time between the European Tour and the Challenge Tour.
Since 2015 Santos has played on the Challenge Tour. He was joint runner-up in the 2017 Hauts de France Golf Open. In 2019 Santos was runner-up in the D+D Real Czech Challenge and then won the next event, the Swiss Challenge, his first win on the tour since 2012.
Professional wins (6) European Tour wins (1) No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin ofvictoryRunner-up 113 May 2012Madeira Islands Open - Portugal1−22 (68-67-68-63=266)4 strokes Magnus A. Carlsson 1Dual-ranking event with the Challenge Tour
Challenge Tour wins (3) No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin ofvictoryRunner(s)-up13 Jul 2011The Princess−16 (73-68-65-66=272)3 strokes Daniel Brooks213 May 2012Madeira Islands Open - Portugal1−22 (68-67-68-63=266)4 strokes Magnus A. Carlsson39 Jun 2019Swiss Challenge−15 (65-68-71-65=269)1 stroke Richard Bland, Moritz Lampert 1Dual-ranking event with the European Tour
PGA EuroPro Tour wins (1) No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin ofvictoryRunner-up125 Jul 2008Oceânico Algarve Championship−13 (66-67-69=202)1 stroke Antonio Sobrinho
Other wins (2) 2010 Pestana Sives IGT Challenge 2011 Pestana Alto TGC Championships
Team appearances Amateur Eisenhower Trophy (representing Portugal): 2004 St Andrews Trophy (representing the Continent of Europe): 2004 European Amateur Team Championship (representing Portugal): 2003, 2005
Professional World Cup (representing Portugal): 2008, 2011, 2013 European Championships (representing Portugal): 2018
See also 2011 Challenge Tour graduates 2019 Challenge Tour graduates 2022 European Tour Qualifying School graduates
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