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European Tour: Italian Open Preview

By Matt Coles

ROME, ITALY - OCTOBER 09: A general view of the 1st hole during a Practice round ahead of the Italian Open at Olgiata Golf Club on October 09, 2019 in Rome, Italy. (Photo by Matthew Lewis/Getty Images)
ROME, ITALY - OCTOBER 09: A general view of the 1st hole during a Practice round ahead of the Italian Open at Olgiata Golf Club on October 09, 2019 in Rome, Italy. (Photo by Matthew Lewis/Getty Images) /
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The European Tour moves across to Italy for this week’s tournament, the fifth of the season’s Rolex Series events, the Italian Open.

The Italian Open is one of the few that have been on the calendar since the inception of the European Tour in 1972, while this particular event was first held in 1925 when Francesco Pasquali won a 36-hole event by a shot from William Jolly at Alpino di Stresa.

The venue hosted the first three editions of the event, and it is one of 25 venues to have played host to the Italian Open over the years. Circolo Golf Villa d’Este took over from Stresa in 1928 and has hosted the tournament 12 times, more than any other venue.

This year, the Italian Open is being played at Olgiata Golf Club, which is holding the event for the third time in its history, but for only the second full tournament. The 1973 event saw the second round take place at Olgiata, while the other three rounds were hosted at Acquasanta, 17 miles south.

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The 2002 event is the only previous Italian Open to have been fully played at Olgiata, and Ian Poulter was the man to take the victory that week, in a rain-shortened 54 hole event.

The Englishman had also won the title two years previous at Is Molas, and he is one of seven golfers to have won the Italian Open twice in the European Tour era.

Sandy Lyle (1984, 1992), Sam Torrance (1987, 1995), Bernhard Langer (1983, 1997), Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano (2007, 2012), Hennie Otto (2008, 2014), and home favourite Francesco Molinari (2006, 2016) are the other two-time winners.

The former British Open champion will be one of the favourites to take home a third Italian Open title this week. He plays his first two rounds at Olgiata alongside England’s Matt Wallace and the man who took the Claret Jug off him, Ireland’s Shane Lowry.

Francesco’s older brother, Edoardo, is also in this week’s field. He will feature alongside Luke Donald and Haotong Li on Thursday and Friday.

Fellow Italian, and winner on the European Tour this season, Andrea Pavan, will play alongside major winner Justin Rose and BMW PGA Champion Danny Willett, while Paul Casey, Alex Noren and Bernd Wiesberger feature in the power-hitting groups at Olgiata for the first couple of days.

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Selected Tee Times (* = 10th tee start):

  • 08:10* & 12:40: Graeme McDowell (NIR), Eddie Pepperell (ENG), Robert MacIntyre (SCO)
  • 08:20* & 12:50: Ian Poulter (ENG), Martin Kaymer (GER), Matthew Fitzpatrick (ENG)
  • 08:30* & 13:00: Francesco Molinari (ITA), Shane Lowry (IRL), Matt Wallace (ENG)
  • 08:40* & 13:10: Haotong Li (CHN), Luke Donald (ENG), Edoardo Molinari (ITA)
  • 12:40 & 08:00*: Tyrrell Hatton (ENG), Guido Migliori (ITA), Erik van Rooyen (RSA)
  • 12:50 & 08:10*: Paul Casey (ENG), Alex Noren (SWE), Bernd Wiesberger (AUT)
  • 13:00 & 08:20*: Justin Rose (ENG), Andrea Pavan (ITA), Danny Willett (ENG)
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