DID YOU KNOW – BMW ITALIAN OPEN PRESENTED BY CARTASI
• Robert Rock will be aiming to become the first player in European Tour history to make a successful defence of the BMW Italian Open presented by CartaSi.
• Matteo Manassero, who is attached at Royal Park I Roveri, will be making his fourth appearance in his National Championship. He played in 2009 as an amateur where he tied for 25th. In 2010, on his professional debut he made history by becoming the youngest professional to make a cut in a European Tour event, aged 17 years and 18 days. He eventually shared 29th. His best performance to date was in 2011, when he occupied eighth, alongside Italian number one, Francesco Molinari and Jbe Kruger.
• Francesco Molinari was the last home winner of the championship in 2006 and will be looking to continue his outstanding form in the event. He has recorded four top eight finishes in the last five years. He was the winner in 2006, tied third in 2007, tied sixth in 2009 and tied eight in 2011. He currently heads the list of most consecutive cuts made on The European Tour with 23. The last cut the Italian missed was The Open Championship in 2011.
• Italy’s most famous golfer, Costantino Rocca will be playing in 29th Italian Open. His best finishes were third back in 1991 and tied third in 1995.
• The BMW Italian Open presented by CartaSi has a rich tradition of Major Champions who have added their name to the trophy, which began in 1925. They include: Sir Henry Cotton (1936), Peter Thomson (1959), Tony Jacklin (1973), Billy Casper (1975), Bernhard Langer (1983, 97), Sandy Lyle (1984, 92), Greg Norman (1988) and Graeme McDowell (2004).
• On eight occasions since 1972 the BMW Italian Open presented by CartaSi has required extra holes to find a champion. Italy’s national open stands third in the list of events with most play-offs. The Irish Open has the most with 11, followed by The Open Championship on nine.
