DID YOU KNOW – SICILIAN OPEN
• Defending champion, Raphaël Jacquelin will be aiming to become just the second French player to successfully defend a European Tour event. The first was Jean-Francois Remesy at the 2004-05 Alstom Open de France.
• Matteo Manassero will be aiming to win his third European Tour title, all of them before his 19th birthday. Should he achieve this, the Italian would hold the record for being the youngest, second youngest and fifth youngest winner in European Tour history.
• There are 17 Italian players competing in the 2012 Sicilian Open. The leading home player in the 2011 event was Lorenzo Gagli, who tied fifth.
• Three Italians have won European Tour events on home soil. They are: Baldovino Dassu (1976 Italian Open), Massimo Mannelli (1980 Italian Open) and Francesco Molinari (2006 Italian Open).
• Two European Senior Tour players, Barry Lane and Costantino Rocca have been given sponsors invitations. Between them the duo have played a combined total of 1,168 European Tour events.
• Verdura Golf and Spa Resort will be playing host to The European Tour for the first time, after the venue opened in 2009.
