Italy’s World Cup winner Edoardo Molinari can expect a hero’s welcome when he returns to his home town of Turin for this week’s BMW Italian Open.
Molinari headlines the tournament on its return to Royal Park I Roveri on a special week which that also marks the professional debut of 17 year old Italian Matteo Manassero, who joined the paid ranks on Monday.
While the Italian crowd will no doubt be cheering their own, the field also boasts seasoned campaigners such as the World Number 37 and Dubai Desert Classic champion Miguel Angel Jiménez of Spain and Europe’s Ryder Cup Captain Colin Montgomerie of Scotland, along with the defending champion, Argentina’s Daniel Vancsik.
Molinari has enjoyed a meteoric rise over the past 12 months, climbing from outside the top 650 at the start of 2009 to World Number 36, with a string of successes behind him.
He first grabbed the golfing headlines when he became the first European to win the US Amateur Championship since 1911 when he triumphed in 2005, and last year he cemented his place on The European Tour with a stunning Challenge Tour campaign. Victories in the Piemonte Open, the Kazakhstan Open and the Italian Federation Cup, allied to a further nine top ten finishes, meant he finished the 2009 season year with earnings of €242,979 – a Challenge Tour record which could conceivably stand for many years – and ensured a return to The European Tour as the Number One graduate.
Remarkably for a player competing on the Challenge Tour with its limited World Ranking points available, he also climbed into the top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking and completed a memorable journey by partnering his younger brother, Francesco, to Italy’s first victory in the Omega Mission Hills World Cup just a few days after capturing Japan’s richest event, the Dunlop Phoenix.
Edoardo is now challenging for a place on Europe’s Ryder Cup Team and will be hoping to emulate his brother as an Italian winner of his national Open, following Francesco’s victory in 2006.
He said: “Things are great for Italian golf, and now we have the BMW Italian Open to look forward to so hopefully we can keep the momentum going. It is going to be very exciting for the fans, and particularly for me in my home city of Turin.”
Last year Daniel Vancsik won the title by six strokes with a brilliant closing 65, six under par - equalling the record low final round by a winner – for a 17 under par total of 267. It was his second European Tour title after success in the 2007 Madeira Islands Open BPI.
“I have amazing memories from last year,” said Vancsik as he looked ahead to his return to Royal Park I Roveri. “I played beautifully all week. I will be trying to play well and win again. It was really special last year as it was my second tournament victory which means a great deal. It is difficult to explain just how much it meant but I will be doing my best to try and win again. Successfully defending my title on the Challenge Tour was extremely important for me and I hope to do the same on The European Tour this week.
“This is one of the best courses we play on The European Tour. I really like it and you have to shape the ball left and right from the tee and the greens are quick. You have to be playing well.
“And there is certainly going to be a buzz around the tournament with the Molinari brothers really putting Italy on the map and Manassero turning professional. It will be an exciting week.”
Montgomerie, who will captain Europe against the United States at The Celtic Manor Resort in October, is a long time supporter of the Italian Open and has come close on several occasions to adding the title to his current haul of 31 European Tour victories.
In 1992 at Monticello, the 46 year old Scot make a final day charge with a closing 66 but finished second to his countryman Sandy Lyle, while another superb final day effort of 65 at Gardagolf in Brescia in 2003 left Montgomerie tied second with Spain’s José Manuel Lara, two shots adrift of Sweden’s Mathias Grönberg.
“I am very much looking forward to returning to play the BMW Italian Open,” said Montgomerie. “It is one of my favourite weeks of the year and I think that my record shows I have performed consistently over the years in the tournament.
“Obviously the only thing missing from my visits is a victory and I have said many times that I want to stand in front of my Team at Celtic Manor as a tournament winner in 2010. I will be going all out to achieve that goal in Turin.”
The field also features six winners from the 2010 European Tour season in Welshman Rhys Davies (Trophée Hassan II), Australian Andrew Dodt (Avantha Masters), Australian Marcus Fraser (Ballantine’s Championship), Spain’s Jiménez (Dubai Desert Classic), England’s James Morrison (Madeira Island’s Open BPI - Portugal) and Scotland’s Richie Ramsay (South African Open Championship).
