In the third and final part of our celebration of Matteo Manassero’s 18th birthday, EuropeanTour.com finds out what Rory McIlroy and Martin Kaymer think of the new kid on the block.
One person who can appreciate the meteoric rise of Matteo Manassero from schoolboy to World Number 33 more than most is Rory McIlroy.
The Northern Irishman was himself a fearless teenage prodigy only a couple of years ago and as Manassero celebrates turning 18th on Tuesday, McIlroy believes the prodigious Italian, who only turned professional 11 months ago, has a big future in the game.
World Number Seven McIlroy was one of those players Manassero edged out to win the Maybank Malaysia Open on Sunday and the two would appear destined for a friendly rivalry at the forefront of European golf over the next decade and beyond.
At the age of 21 and with four years as a professional and a Ryder Cup already under his belt, McIlroy is practically a Tour veteran in comparison to Manassero and he sees plenty of himself in the rising star.
“I’ve known Matteo since he was an amateur and I think I first met him in 2009 when he had just won the British Amateur (Championship) and played in The Open,” said McIlory.
“He’s fantastic. He’s obviously a great golfer but even more importantly he’s a great guy. That’s very important and he’s got great parents. He is great to be around. To win so early on Tour is a great achievement and he’s not the sort of guy to let it go to his head.
“He’s very level headed and a great player. He’s very impressive for being so young. He has got very comfortable very quickly out here on Tour.
“He does remind me a little bit of myself at that age. Our games are very different – he’s a little shorter off the tee and relies on his short game more whereas I’m almost the opposite, a good ball striker and hit a lot of greens. But his short game and his demeanour are his strength. Mentally he’s strong and he goes out there and shoots good scores. It’s great to see and he’s great for The European Tour.”
McIlroy knows exactly how difficult life can be as a teenager on Tour and he has been impressed with the way Manassero has seamlessly adapted to the professional arena at such a tender age.
“It’s tough as a 17 or 18 year old on Tour,” said McIlory. “You have to surround yourself with good people and he’s got a good Northern Irish caddie on the bag and a great coach in Alberto (Bingahi, former European Tour player), who travels with him, so he’s surrounded himself with a good team and he has a very bright future ahead of him.”
Another European Tour star who knows all about the pressure of achieving so much so young is German Martin Kaymer, who earlier this year became World Number One at the age of 25 having won his ninth European Tour title in his 100th event in Abu Dhabi earlier this year, a haul that includes the US PGA Championship.
Like McIlroy, Kaymer has been impressed by Manassero’s explosive start to his professional career and the manner in which he has handled himself over the past 11 months.
“It was great for him to win in Malaysia and celebrate his second win just before he turned 18 after winning last year too,” he said. “Finally now he can also drive a car too!
“He has a very bright future in front of him for sure but the most important thing is that he is a very calm person and a very nice person to talk to. He’s very generous. He has great qualities. To see that so early – to be so mature - is really cool. Hopefully we’ll play against each other for many years to come.
"You see the young guys like Matteo and Rory McIlroy and it’s fantastic to see the future. I will play against those guys for the next ten to 15 years
"The way Matteo won the tournament in Malaysia, was very impressive for such a young guy. He’s very cool already and even when he holed that long shot on the tenth for eagle, he didn’t freak out. He was very calm. That is very unusual for someone of 17 or 18, so you can see a lot of potential."
Indeed the assured way in which Manaasero closed out both his maiden four-shot victory in the CASTELLÓ MASTERS Costa Azahar and his follow-up win in Malaysia at the weekend were comparable with Kaymer’s own clinical efficiency on the back nine on a Sunday.
Yet from what he has seen so far, Kaymer believes Manassero is a better prospect at 18 than he was at the same age.
He said: “I was not that good when I was 17 or 18. I became better over the last few years. I was 22 when I became good so he still has four years to go until that age so he’s there earlier than me.
“It’s probably a little early to say if he is a major champion in the making but the potential is there. It all depends on the people around him and how they handle him. If they guide him in the right directions the skill is certainly there. There are so many guys you’d think would win Majors and haven’t but the potential is certainly there for Matteo.”
