Capped a brilliant debut campaign on the Challenge Tour by winning the season-ending Apulia San Domenico Grand Final, edging out Tommy Fleetwood in a tense finale at the San Domenico Golf course, the club to which he is attached. The win – his second of the season after he triumphed in the Norwegian Challenge - lifted him to second place in the Rankings, a remarkable achievement given that he started the campaign without a category and was relying on sponsors’ invitations. Was fifth in the EGA’s European Amateur Rankings when he turned professional in 2010. Succeeded compatriot Francesco Molinari as winner of the 2005 Italian Amateur Stroke Play Championship, and later went to the United States to study at the University of Texas A&M. There he won on the collegiate circuit, was part of the first team All-American and was a member of the team which won the NCAA Championship. Finished runner-up at the 2010 European Amateur Championship, and on his European Tour debut at the 2010 BMW Italian Open finished tied 22nd. Lives in Rome, where he grew up, and is an ardent supporter of AS Roma.