Matteo Manassero, the youngest winner in DP World Tour history, is targeting a return to the top tier after making a strong start to the 2022 Road to Mallorca.
Manassero burst onto the scene by becoming the youngest winner of the Amateur Championship in 2009 at the age of 16, before securing the Silver Medal for low amateur at The Open Championship later that year, finishing in a tie for 13th.
The Italian continued to send shockwaves through the golfing world in 2010 when he became the youngest player to make the cut at the Masters, where he finished in a tie for 36th place, the best performance by a European amateur for 73 years, which has only since been surpassed by Norwegian Viktor Hovland, who finished in a tie for 32nd in 2019.
The Italian went on to win the 2010 Castelló Masters in Spain, making him the youngest-ever winner on the DP World Tour at 17 years and 188 days, before going on to win on three further occasions, including the prestigious BMW PGA Championship.
The 29-year-old lost his DP World Tour card at the end of 2018 and is now plying his trade on the European Challenge Tour in a bid to regain his top tier status and he has began his 2022 season in fine form, recording a tie for eighth at the Bain’s Whisky Cape Town Open, before a tie for seventh at the SDC Open to sit 28th on the Rankings.
“My strong start took me by surprise because historically I have struggled in South Africa,” he said. “It’s important to get off to a good start and not have to chase all year because the Challenge Tour is so tough. You have to keep your levels extremely high throughout the season if you want to be successful on this Tour.”
“My game has become more consistent recently. I put in a lot of hard work on my game last season which has given me a solid base that I can perform with and now I need to turn that into results. I started to gain some confidence towards the end of last season because low scores started to arrive and I’m happy with how I have been able to take my form into the new season.”
Manassero, who finished 33rd on the Road to Mallorca Rankings last year, has a renewed sense of purpose this season and is enjoying working towards his short-term goal of securing a maiden Challenge Tour title.
“My goal for each week is to put myself into winning positions and earn my first win on the Challenge Tour,” he added. “I like to focus on short term goals which I can control and that will feed itself into the bigger goal of finishing near the top of the Rankings.”
“The Challenge Tour has a great environment. Every year we are playing better and more challenging courses which prepare us for the DP World Tour. The only difference between myself and most of the guys on the Challenge Tour is that I’ve played at the highest level before, but golf has ups and downs and now I must go through this stage to return to the top. I know where my game is at, and I know where I need to go.”
“I believe I can win on the DP World Tour again,” said Manassero. “I’ve done it before, and I know I have the ability. I’m on the right path to living that moment again in my life and I think I am mentally more prepared for the big stage now than I was back then. I know how hard it is and I need to put in the work to get back there.”
Manassero will look to build on the solid foundations put in place during the South African Swing as the Road to Mallorca moves to Europe for the Challenge de España, which takes place from May 19-22.
