Edoardo Molinari had long since sewn up the Challenge Tour Rankings before heading south for the Apulia San Domenico Grand Final in 2009, but Federico Colombo and Andrea Pavan will have to do it the hard way if they are to follow in the spikemarks of their illustrious compatriot.
Realistically, Pavan and Colombo – respectively seventh and ninth in the Rankings – would have to win at San Domenico Golf next week and hope that current Number One Sam Little finishes well down the field if they are to stand any chance of becoming the fourth Italian – after Giuseppe Cali in 1990, Michele Reale in 1997 and Molinari in 2009 – to top the Rankings.
But with the ultra-consistent Colombo having secured eight top ten finishes so far this term – which is the joint highest of any Challenge Tour player – and with Pavan having mastered the art of winning at the Norwegian Challenge, both men will harbour high hopes of signing off their seasons in style.
Colombo said: “It is a very exciting week for all of the players I think, but the Italian players will be especially looking forward to playing such an important tournament in their own country. It is a very important week for us but I don’t think I will feel too much pressure there. I hope I can perform well.
“It is a great way to end the Challenge Tour season – the best 45 players of the year playing for a big prize money and with no cut, so you know that even if you have a disappointing first two rounds you can still recover and play well in the last two days and make an impression on the tournament.”
Despite living hundreds of miles away in Rome, Pavan will feel right at home at San Domenico Golf, a links layout located along the Adriatic coastline in the region of Puglia.
Pavan is sponsored by the club, whose logo he wears on his tailored Italian shirt, and so is intimately acquainted with every inch of the 7,031 yards, par 71 course, which was designed by European Golf Design.
But if knowing the course is one thing, coping with the conditions is quite another.
Pavan said: “I know the course well, although it will play very differently at the Grand Final than it would during the summer months. The rough will be a lot thicker at the Grand Final, there will be a much stronger wind, and it will be bouncy and fast. But I have played it in the wind before, so I am comfortable with what I know of the course.
“My sponsorship with San Domenico came about when I was down there at the start of the year. I played a Pro-Am there and then we had a five day training camp with the Italian pro team after that, and that’s when I met Sergio Melpignano [owner of San Domenico Golf]. He knew that I was a young professional just starting out and that I had been playing well, so he decided to help me out and I’m very grateful for his support.
“It’s an amazing place, and I have been lucky enough to go and practice there. I was there before I won in Norway this year, so it has been a good place for me – although when you are there in the summer the beach is a lot more appealing than the range!”
