20 October 2026
Few places on the Faldo Series calendar come with a view like the one from the Santo da Serra clubhouse. This week the circuit reached Madeira for the first time, and the island’s golf community marked the occasion with a three-day tournament from 16 to 18 October that felt like a milestone for the club and for the island as a whole.
The Faldo Junior Tour played the Machico and Serras composite course, the two loops of a 27-hole layout that Robert Trent Jones Senior remodelled in 1991. The original nine holes date back to 1937, when the course was first laid out as Golf Club Madeira, and the Machico loop overlooks the bay where the Portuguese navigators first landed on the island. Seve Ballesteros, who played in the Madeira Islands Open in 2001, reportedly described the clubhouse as “una clubhouse muy bonita.” The club has a long association with the European Tour, and the Machico and Desertas loops have hosted the Madeira Islands Open for many years.
Santiago Dias of Oporto Golf Club took the overall championship and the Boys 16 & Under title, finishing four under par (212) after rounds of 70, 69 and 73. Joshua Hockenhull of Prestbury was second at level par (216), with Ralph Barnett of Thorpe Hall third at eleven over.
In the Boys 21 & Under, Calum Dalby of Denham won at ten over (226), finishing ahead of Daniel Hobbs of Brookmans Park, who was on seventeen over (233).
The Girls 16 & Under title went to Daisy Lee of Lancaster, who finished three over (219) after a week of mixed conditions. Ashling Poynton of Rinkven was second at twelve over (228). Lee later posted that the week had been an “absolute jarring experience with the weather,” but she was glad to have completed all three rounds with her game in a good place.
The field included players from 9 nationalities, a reflection of how far the Faldo Series now reaches. The tournament was sponsored by the Madeira Islands Tourism Board and Calheta Viva, and supported by the Portuguese Golf Federation, whose backing helped make the first event on the island possible.
Dias, who played his round with his grandparents watching, posted his thanks to his family, his coach and the team at Clube de Golf Santo da Serra. He finished his message with a clear sign of where he is heading next: “Let’s go to Dubai.” The European Grand Final at Al Ain Equestrian, Shooting & Golf Club in the UAE is in November, and the category winners will now make the trip.
For the club, the week was a first chance to show what it can offer international junior golf. Special thanks go to André Rodrigues, Director of Operations, Ricardo Vieira, Sales and Marketing, and João Goes, Golf Club Coordinator, whose work ran the event from start to finish.
Madeira has waited a long time for a Faldo Series event, and the island has now joined the circuit with a result that will be remembered. The next step is to see what this first edition can grow into.
