The European Challenge Tour heads to Rome for the Italian Challenge Open this week. Here are three men to keep an eye on…
Form horse
Alex Fitzpatrick arrives at Golf Nazionale with a spring in his step after he qualified for the The 151st Open at Royal Liverpool yesterday. The Englishman posted rounds of 70-65 over 36 holes in Final Qualifying at West Lancashire Golf Club to finish in a tie for fourth place and secure his spot at The Open Championship in two weeks’ time. Alex will look to follow in the footsteps of brother Matt in becoming a Major champion.
The 24-year-old has shown glimpses of his ability on the 2023 Road to Mallorca with two top ten finishes, including a tie for third at the B-NL Challenge Trophy. Fitzpatrick sits in 40th position on the Road to Mallorca Rankings and will be hoping for a strong week in Rome as he looks to climb in to the top 20.
Local boy
Andrea Pavan will be looking to use local knowledge to his advantage this week. The Italian grew up in Rome playing Golf Nazionale and will therefore know the venue better than most in the field.
The 2013 Challenge Tour Number One returned to the winner’s circle earlier this year at the D+D Real Czech Challenge and he is currently placed eighth on the Road to Mallorca Rankings as he looks to regain his DP World Tour playing privileges.
The outsider
James Allan has made an impressive start to life on the Challenge Tour since graduating from the PGA EuroPro in 2022. The Englishman, who became the highest annual earner in the EuroPro Tour’s history last season, has already recorded two top five finishes on the Road to Mallorca including a tie for eighth at last week’s Le Vaudreuil Golf Challenge in France.
Allan currently sits 50th on the Road to Mallorca Rankings but with the large €350,000 prize fund on offer at the Italian Challenge Open, a strong performance in the Eternal City this week could propel him towards the top 20.
