Portuguese golfer Vasco Alves has secured a spot on the 2026 Alps Tour, marking a calculated strategic move to build international experience and establish a stable professional calendar after years of relying on tournament invitations.
The 25-year-old explained his decision to bypass the higher-tier DP World Tour qualification, where compatriots Daniel da Costa Rodrigues and Pedro Figueiredo competed. Alves cited his inconsistent performance on the HotelPlanner Tour, Europe’s second division.
“This year I played several times on the HotelPlanner Tour, thanks to invitations from the Portuguese Golf Federation, and although I felt I was playing well, I didn’t get good results,” Alves stated. “So, I thought trying the DP World Tour School would be a step too far.”
In 2025, Alves participated in seven HotelPlanner Tour events, making the cut only once at the Open de Portugal. He finished 66th, three strokes over par, marking his first time completing four rounds in a second-division tournament.
His focused effort on the Alps Tour, a third-tier circuit, proved successful. He finished third in the First Phase in Italy and then secured qualification with a seventh-place finish in the Final near Rome.
“During these two qualification phases, I didn’t always play my best golf, but I feel that I adapted my game well to the three courses I encountered, and I am very happy to have achieved the goal,” Alves said.
Alves emphasized the importance of securing a “card” in a satellite tour. He highlighted the Alps Tour as an optimal choice, noting its planned stops in Portugal in 2026.
“This qualification for the Alps Tour was very important for me, because it allows me to have a complete and pre-planned calendar for next season, something I haven’t had until today,” he added, speaking from Oporto Golf Club.
The Portuguese Golf Federation is reportedly exploring the possibility of bringing the Alps Tour back to Portugal. Alves’s comments suggest an official announcement may be imminent.
A Portuguese stop would provide the Federation with dozens of invitations for national players. While Alves, with his Category-6 status, will enter all tournaments, he noted the benefits of competing alongside compatriots for both morale and shared expenses.
Alves’s professional career includes two titles: the Open do Pro-Am Cidade Europeia do Desporto de Viana do Castelo in 2023 and the Open Cidade de Amarante in 2024. He was also a runner-up in two of five events on Portugal’s Timestamp Golf Tour this year.
His primary goal for the upcoming year is to finish within the top five of the Alps Tour ranking. This achievement would promote him to the HotelPlanner Tour in 2027.
Despite the significant Alps Tour qualification, Alves’s 2025 season is not yet complete.
He is set to play three more tournaments: the Timestamp Golf Tour Final and two Mena Golf Tour events in Portugal. Each of these events will distribute approximately $10,800 USD in prize money.