Matteo Manassero, the teenage Italian taking the golfing world by storm, makes his professional debut in the BMW Italian Open from May 6-9, 2010 alongside Italy’s World Cup winner, Edoardo Molinari.
The 17 year old Manassero is setting records at every turn and the former Junior Ryder Cup player will play his first Tour event since the Masters Tournament in front of adoring home fans at the magnificent Royal Park I Roveri ,close to the vibrant city of Turin.
Molinari, who topped the Challenge Tour Rankings last year with record earnings, won in Japan and, alongside his brother Francesco, steered Italy to their first World Cup triumph in China, also competed in the Masters Tournament after climbing into the World’s top 50 and is now challenging for a place in Europe’s Ryder Cup Team. As the highest ranked player in the field at World Number 36 and currently 26th on The Race to Dubai, he too can expect a tremendous welcome on his homecoming to Turin.
All eyes will inevitably be on the Italian pair for the second BMW Italian Open to be played at Royal Park I Roveri under the shadow of the Alps.
Molinari said: “The fact that Francesco and I and also Matteo Manassero played in the Masters was a huge in Italy. It’s great for Italian golf, and now we have the BMW Italian Open to look forward to so hopefully we can keep the momentum going. It is going to be very exciting for the fans, and particularly for me in my home city of Turin.
“I’ve played a few practice rounds with Matteo in Qatar and Abu Dhabi, and I think he’s going to be a great player. He’s a very normal, down-to-earth guy, and although he probably knows he’s going to be a great player, he’s still very willing to learn.
Manassero is equally excited about playing the BMW Italian Open, where he finished joint 25th last year.
“I am looking forward to the BMW Italian Open,” said Manassero. “It will be my first tournament as a professional in my home country and I will be competing in front of many friends and family. It will be a very special tournament and I am also really looking forward to playing at home again after travelling to the US for the Georgia Cup and the Masters. Hopefully we will see a lot of people coming to the BMW Italian Open and I will try to perform my best for them. I am very grateful for the opportunity.”
Over the past 12 months Manassero has been breaking records on a regular basis. Last year he became the youngest – and the first Italian – winner of the Amateur Championship at Formby and lit up the golfing world with his performance in The Open Championship at Turnberry.
Playing alongside Tom Watson for the first two days, it was to prove an unforgettable week for the oldest and youngest players in the field, as Watson came within an eight foot putt of winning the Claret Jug at the age of 59 while Manassero became the youngest winner of the Silver Medal awarded to the low amateur.
The teenager, the youngest player in The Open since Young Tom Morris in the 1860s, finished a superb tied 13th and only missed the lowest aggregate by an amateur in Open history by a stroke.
His Amateur Championship victory secured an invitation for the Masters Tournament at Augusta National earlier this month and again he performed with distinction, winning the Silver Plate as low amateur. His performance was the best by a European amateur for 73 years, since Francis Francis in 1937.
