Pro Golf Now
Fansided

Italian Open Power Rankings: Top ten picks at Gardagolf

By Mike Randleman

4 May 1997: Costantino Rocca of Italy and his caddy walk across the bridge at the eighth hole during the Italian Open at the Gardagolf Club in Brescia, Italy. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Redington/Allsport
4 May 1997: Costantino Rocca of Italy and his caddy walk across the bridge at the eighth hole during the Italian Open at the Gardagolf Club in Brescia, Italy. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Redington/Allsport /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
8 of 11
Next
29 Oct 2000: Ian Poulter of England celebrates as a Lira millionaire with the cheque and the trophys after his first PGA European Tour win a one shot victory in the final round of the Italian Open at Is Molas Golf Course, Sardinia, Italy. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Munday/ALLSPORT
29 Oct 2000: Ian Poulter of England celebrates as a Lira millionaire with the cheque and the trophys after his first PGA European Tour win a one shot victory in the final round of the Italian Open at Is Molas Golf Course, Sardinia, Italy. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Munday/ALLSPORT /

Ian Poulter is back to playing the high level golf we’ve known well over the years. The 42-year-old Englishman won his first event on any tour since 2012 at last month’s Houston Open.

At that point, it wasn’t a surprise to see him in the winner’s circle. He’s got four worldwide top-10s and two more top-20s in 2018 primarily playing the PGA Tour or co-sanctioned events.

The traditionally strong iron player is 22nd on the PGA Tour in strokes gained approaching the green and 35th tee-to-green.

It’s hard to envision Poulter ever being out of a hole this week. He’s 24th in driving accuracy and is 15th in proximity from the rough to make for a nice fail-safe.

He’s a positive in all major strokes gained categories.

I wonder if Poulter has fond memories of Gardagolf. He’s one of a handful of players in this week’s field who teed it up at the 2003 Italian Open. Poulter tied for 18th that year and also won the Italian Open at Is Molas in 2000 for his first win as a pro.

Poulter could very well receive a captain’s pick for this fall’s Ryder Cup. However, he’s 28th in points and could use a huge week with more points on the line in Italy.

“Having extra Ryder Cup points on offer two weeks in a row at the BMW PGA Championship and Italian Open certainly gives us players an extra incentive to do well,” Poulter said. “My game is feeling pretty good at the moment and I hope I can play well in front of the Italian fans.”

Home/Golf Power Rankings