RICARDO SANTOS – WITH VICTORY IN THE MADEIRA ISLANDS OPEN.
* Captures his first European Tour International Schedule victory in his 23rd European Tour event.
* Moves to €186,637 in The Race to Dubai.
* Will move to just outside the top 190 in the Official World Golf Ranking from 305th.
* His win beats his previous best European Tour finishes of tied tenth in the 2011 Madeira Islands Open – Portugal and 2012 Avantha Masters.
* He becomes the first rookie to win on The 2012 European Tour. The last rookie to win on The European Tour was Tom Lewis at the 2011 Portugal Masters.
* He graduated from the 2011 European Challenge Tour Rankings and becomes the second in 2011 to win the year after graduation, following Julien Quesne (2012 Open de Andalucia Costa del Sol).
* Santos becomes the seventh first-time winner of the 2012 European Tour International Schedule. He follows: Branden Grace (Joburg Open), Jbe’ Kruger (Avantha Masters), Julien Quesne (Open de Andalucía Costa del Sol), Thorbjørn Olesen (Sicilian Open), Bubba Watson (Masters Tournament) and Bernd Wiesberger (Ballantine’s Championship).
* More importantly Santos becomes the first Portuguese player to win the Madeira Islands Open – Portugal and first Portuguese to win a European Tour event on home soil.
* He also becomes only the second Portuguese player to win on The European Tour, following Daniel Silva (1992 Jersey European Airways Open). (José-Filipe Lima, although now Portuguese, was playing under the French flag when he won the 2004 As St Omer Open).
* He is the ninth player to make the Madeira Islands Open – Portugal their maiden European Tour victory. He would follow: Santiago Luna (1995), Pedro Linhart (1999), Niclas Fasth (2000), Bradley Dredge (2003), Christopher Hanell (2004), Daniel Vancsik (2007), Estanislao Goya (2009) and James Morrison (2010).
OTHER FACTS
* Santos wins in his seventh appearance in the Madeira Islands Open – Portugal.
* His victory beats his previous best performance in the event of tied tenth in 2011.
* His four shot final round winning comeback would equal the largest on The European Tour in 2012. This would match the four of Francesco Molinari in the Reale Seguros Open de España.
* Santos becomes the 404th different player to win on The European Tour.
* He gainns a European Tour exemption until the end of the 2013 season.
* Santos also earned his largest European Tour prize of €112,500.
* He also gains a place in the 2013 Volvo Golf Champions.
* Also it is his fourth win as a professional.
* He bcomes the 42nd rookie to win in European Tour history.
* Santos becomes the 25th different Challenge Tour graduate to win on The European Tour the year after graduation.
* He also becomes the 13th European Tour victory by a former Challenge Tour player on the 2012 European Tour from 18 events so far. He would: Louis Oosthuizen (Africa Open and Maybank Malaysian Open), Branden Grace (Joburg Open, Volvo Golf Champions and Volvo China Open), Robert Rock (Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship), Rafael Cabrera-Bello (Omega Dubai Desert Classic), Justin Rose (WGC – Cadillac Championship), Julien Quesne (Open de Andalucía Costa del Sol), Michael Hoey (Trophée Hassan II), Thørbjorn Olesen (Sicilian Open) and Bernd Wiesberger (Ballantine’s Championship).
* Ricardo becomes also the 297th European Tour victory by a former Challenge Tour player.
* And he becomes the 126th different former Challenge Tour player to win on the European Tour.
