As we prepare for the inaugural Montecchia Golf Open presented by Polaroid, we give you three players who could do well this week…
Jens Dantorp
The Swede finished strongly last season and has had a promising start to 2013, finishing tied 30th in the season-opener in India, tied 14th in Kenya and tied fourth last week in Madrid. The 24 year old does not need to look far for inspiration from his fellow young Scandinavians, such as Kristoffer Broberg and Joel Sjöholm of Sweden and Danes Thorbjørn Olesen, Andreas Hartø and Lasse Jensen. Like Broberg, Dantorp came through the Nordic League in 2011, winning the Order of Merit, and 2013 could be his breakthrough year on the Challenge Tour.
Raymond Russell
The Scotsman won the Challenge Provincia di Varese in northern Italy last June, and this week’s track is similar. Short and tight with soft greens, Golf Club della Montecchia demands accuracy off the tee and a patient approach. Russell, who narrowly missed out on promotion to The European Tour last year, may have missed the cut in Madrid last week, but his record on Italian courses like this will be a big advantage here.
Marco Crespi
The Italian was tied 22nd last week in his second appearance of the season, but he will feel right at home at Montecchia on a course suited to his accuracy. The 34 year old was tied third in the Challenge Provincia de Varese last summer after opening with a 64, and also finished in the top 20 in the other two Challenge Tour events in Italy in 2012, taking a share of 16th place in the Double Tree by Hilton Acaya Open and tied 17th in the season-ending Grand Final.
