A Portuguese flag has been a rare sight in the field entries across recent years on both the LET and LETAS.
For one week only while LETAS stops off in her home country, Susan Ribeiro is returning to professional competition after a five year hiatus.
Explaining why she is returning to Tour, Ribeiro said: “I feel very proud to have this tournament after so many years of not having a Portuguese event on the schedule.
“I think it’s very good for the country. It’s very good for female golf and for the younger amateurs that are here. It’s very good to grow the game for all of us.”
Ribeiro also has a special connection to Vidago Palace Golf.
“Vidago is like my second home in Portugal. My grandfather was the President of this Club also.
“This was always the place we came on holidays. I first came here when I was two months old. I have a lot of memories from this place. It’s a fantastic course and a fantastic venue.”
The Portuguese professional grew up playing the nine hole course before it was re-opened in 2010 as a par-72 course yet Ribeiro has played a few competitions here and knows it better than most.
“I think you need more than distance here. It’s about putting the ball on the right spot in the fairway and especially on the front nine. On the back nine, you really have to know where you have to pitch the ball on the green because it’s very hilly and you have different levels on the green.
“This week will be good for the youngsters to see what it looks like to play on tour.”
Ribeiro has the best professional record of all time in Portugal. She was a three-time national professional champion (2015, 2016, 2017, 2019) and had the best-ever result by a Portuguese player in seven years of the Azores Ladies Open on LETAS (10th place, with +5, in 2016), and the best-ever result by a Portuguese player in LET tournaments (32nd place, with +2, at the 2019 Spanish Open).
The 34-year-old now works as a coach and golf TV commentator as well as being a mum to a two-year-old but she couldn’t pass up the opportunity to tee it up in her home country in a Tour event for the first time since 2017.
“I stopped because I was getting really frustrated on the golf course and I felt that I couldn’t reach the level I wanted. So for this week, I’m going to have fun and enjoy it. That’s all.
“When you are a mum, you really see things differently and value what is really important.”
Ribeiro tees it up at 10:05 Tuesday morning alongside previous LETAS champion Lianna Bailey and England’s Jae Bowers.
To follow all the action from the tournament visit letaccess.com and follow @LETAccess on Facebook, Instagram and X – #Access2LET.
