Quinta do Lago

An aerial view of the resort
Club information
Location in Portugal
Coordinates	37°02′42″N 8°01′08″W / 37.045°N 8.019°W / 37.045; -8.019
Location	Algarve, Portugal
Established	1974; 50 years ago
Type	Private
Total holes	54
Events hosted	Portuguese Open
Website	www.quintadolago.com
North Course
Designed by	Rocky Roquemore William Mitchell Joseph Lee
Par	72
Length	6,126 metres
South Course
Designed by	William Mitchell
Par	72
Length	6,488 metres
Laranjal
Designed by	Santana da Silva
Par	72
Length	6,480 metres

Quinta do Lago is a golf resort in Almancil, in the Algarve region of southern Portugal. Quinta do Lago comprises one of the three corners of the Golden Triangle of the Algarve's most affluent communities.

The community hosted the Portuguese Open, part of the PGA European Tour, in 1976, 1984–1986, 1988, 1989, 1990, and most recently in 2001.

Quinta do Lago was founded in 1971 by Polish-Brazilian property developer André Jordan, three years after the end of Salazar's rule.

The original 550-hectare site, "Quinta dos Ramalhos" (Ramalhos Estate), contained the ruins of an old farmhouse (today "Casa Velha", having been rebuilt as a restaurant in 1972), a stone pine forest adjacent to both the Ria Formosa and the growing resort of Vale do Lobo which had been founded eight years earlier. Jordan's company, Planal, acquired the property on 20 December 1971. The Pinto de Magalhães family previously owned the large beach-lined estate for over 300 years. Within three years, a bridge to the beach had been built to the beach, the lake was created over the salty sands, and 27 holes of golf designed by architect William F. Mitchell had been completed.

Following the 1974 Carnation revolution, Andre Jordan returned to Brazil, leaving the Portuguese state to manage. In 1974, revolutionary leader Otelo Saraiva de Carvalho presided over the golf courses' inauguration; in 1976, the Portuguese Open was held in Quinta do Lago for the first time.

In 1981, Portuguese politics stabilised, and Quinta do Lago management was returned to Planal, and Jordan returned to Portugal.^[1] The Portuguese Open was again held in Quinta do Lago in 1984–86. In 1986, the Four Seasons Country Club opened in the heart of Quinta, followed by the Four Seasons Fairways; neither resort is related to the Canadian Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts group.

In 1987, Jordan sold the resort (i.e. Planal, the holding company) to a consortium of British shareholders headed by Roger Abraham, a former banker at Chase Manhattan Bank, and food entrepreneur David Thompson. By 1989, Abraham had withdrawn, and Thompson headed the resort alone. The Portuguese Open was held in the resort again in 1988-90 and 2001.

In 1998, Planal was acquired by Irish billionaire Denis O'Brien.

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  Quinta do Lago
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  Quinta do Lago
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  Bridge to the Praia da Qta. do Lago.
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  Entrance to Quinta do Lago.
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  Praia da Quinta do Lago.
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  Sunset at Quinta do Lago.
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  Villas overlooking the water.

• List of golf courses in Portugal

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Quinta do Lago.

• Quinta do Lago – official site