Lorenzo Gagli, who has sparkled on The European Tour this term, is the focus of the third and final part in our series of memorable moments from the Grand Final…
They say that the ability to thrive under pressure is what separates great golfers from merely good ones, and Italy’s Lorenzo Gagli was able to produce a flash of inspiration when it mattered most: in the pressure cooker that is the final afternoon of the Apulia San Domenic Grand Final.
As Gagli stood on the 11th tee at San Domenico Golf on one over par for the tournament, the Italian knew he needed to produce something speciale on home soil to stand any chance of gatecrashing the top 20 of the Challenge Tour Rankings and securing a late entry to The European Tour.
The time for caution was over, as Gagli threw it to the coastal wind which whips in off the Adriatic Sea. It was now or never.
Having followed a birdie on the 11th hole with a sound par on the brutally tough 12th and another on the 13th, Gagli banished the memories of his double bogey on the 14th hole in the second round with a birdie which took him to one under par. But still he needed more – much more, in fact.
Right on cue, a booming drive down the 15th fairway was followed by a sweetly-struck long iron, leaving him with an eminently makeable eagle putt which could shape his golfing destiny.
Fortunately the golfing gods were smiling on the son of a Florence fruit and veg shop owner, as his putt caught the edge of the hole and dropped in.
A birdie at the 17th hole put the cherry on the cake for Gagli Junior, who finished alongside England’s Lee Slattery in a share of third place to climb to 17th in the final Rankings. Unlike Slattery, Gagli is yet to capture his maiden European Tour title this term, but he has feasted on the top table with a quintet of top five finishes, including runner-up behind the Englishman at the recent Bankia Madrid Masters.
Gagli currently sits in 40th place in The Race to Dubai with season’s earnings of €567,655 and, having now virtually guaranteed his place in the season-ending Dubai World Championship, he can expect to swell the coffers even further. But, without the €17,400 he collected at last year’s Apulia San Domenico Grand Final, none of it would have been possible.
