Matteo Manassero recorded the lowest round of his career with an 11-under-par 61 during the second round of the Jonsson Workwear Open on Friday, which he called "the best round I've had in my life".
The Italian, who earned his way back onto the DP World Tour for the first time in five years after returning to form on the European Challenge Tour in 2023, raced into the lead at Glendower Golf Club with a blistering start that had him within striking distance of the second ever DP World Tour round of 59.
After opening his round on the back nine with a birdie, eagle, birdie start, Manassero added two further birdies at the 15th and 16th holes before carding a second eagle of the morning at the 17th to turn in an eight-under-par 28.
“I was at one point as well to be fair," Manassero said of thinking about a 59.
"I mean, I never even came close to touching 11 under so it's been the best round I've had in my life, I guess. I couldn't be happier."
On a day where soft greens yielded plenty of low scoring, it was the par fives where Manassero took firm advantage in South Africa.
Having already posted two eagles, he followed a birdie at the par-four second with two final gains at the par-five fourth and sixth holes - leaving him needing to birdie two of his last three for a 59.
He closed out with three consecutive pars to secure the lowest round of his career, although was left to rue an agonising missed chance at the eighth to go one better as he grabbed the early clubhouse lead on day two.
"But yeah, I mean, apart from that sour taste of that little putt at eight, the rest has been has been amazing," he said.
“Yeah. I mean, the greens being soft, even if you have kind of a longer club, if you hit a good shot, the ball sticks close to the hole you know, so you can get a lot of birdie chances or eagle chances as well. It's a target golf course and if you put yourself in position and hit some good irons then you know scoring is really, really possible and I think a lot of guys will shoot under par today. So that's how the course is playing and we'll see for the weekend."
It's been a long road back to the top of the game for Manassero, who rose to fame as a 17-year-old when he became the youngest winner in DP World Tour history at the 2010 at the Castelló Masters Costa Azahar - a record he still holds.
Over the next three years, Manassero secured three more wins on golf’s Global Tour, including a memorable triumph at the BMW PGA Championship which catapulted him into the world’s top 30 and had the entire golfing world tipping him for greatness.
Yet further success failed to materialise, and after several consecutive seasons of struggling he lost his status on Tour. It was a battle for him to get back and took two further years to win again, but that victory on the lower-tiered Alps Tour in 2020 helped kick-start a long-awaited comeback.
After two years on the Challenge Tour, Manassero earned his way back to the DP World Tour at the end of last season and had a fast start to his campaign, claiming a fifth-place finish in just his second event of the new season at the Investec South African Open Championship.
No stranger to the ups and downs of professional golf, Manassero then missed four cuts in a row, but showed signs of some form in the last few weeks with a tied 35th and tied 36th place finish in two of his last three starts.
A career-low 61 is another boost of confidence for the 30-year-old, who says his focus is always looking forward and trying to improve the process - with the hope he can continue today's form over the weekend as he seeks his first victory in nearly 11 years on the DP World Tour.
“Yeah, I mean, this is a long road and of course I'm happy with the round like this, but it's today, you know, tomorrow's tomorrow and I don't look behind very much, even if we kind of tend to some time. So just look ahead and try to improve the process, get better and see what comes.”
