– The Italian Open is celebrating its 100th anniversary. A significant milestone. The first edition was held in 1925. However, there haven’t been a hundred editions. This week’s will be the 82nd.
– For this anniversary, the Italian Golf Federation thought it was a great idea for the tournament to be held at the Argentario Golf Club, the headquarters of the federation itself. It’s like the National Golf Centre in Madrid, but the Italian version.
– It must be said that the course, opened in 2006 and making its debut on the DP World Tour, isn’t exactly winning over the players. It has a strong rough, similar to the US Open some say, and the greens are really good, but the design offers few options.
– For example, it’s a week where it wouldn’t matter if you forgot your driver at the hotel. It’s hardly used. Rory McIlroy would have loved a course like this at the PGA Championship. We’ll see a lot of irons from the tee, even on a couple of par 5s. There are three short par 4s (3, 10, and 16), but it will be rare to see golfers going for the green because it’s not really worth it. There are far more risks than rewards.
– Initially, as there will be a lot of iron play, it doesn’t seem like the fairway rough will come into play much. We’ll see. It’s the course’s main defence along with the wind, although the forecast says it will be quite calm on Thursday and Friday.
– There are 14 Spaniards present at this Italian Open. In addition to the usual Armada of the DP World Tour, Albert Boneta has joined through his School category, as well as Gonzalo Fernández Castaño, present as a past champion of the tournament.
– Alfredo García Heredia is debuting a new caddie this week. After a long time, he has decided to make a change. He will work with Álvaro Alonso, who has been a caddie for Luis Masaveu or Carlota Ciganda in the recent past.
– The defending champion is German Marcel Siem. One of the players to watch closely is Renato Paratore. He is having a great season on the HotelPlanner Tour and this week will have the opportunity to return quickly to the DP World Tour.
– The Italian Open has an enticing extra incentive. It offers two spots for the Open Championship to those who finish the week best placed and, obviously, are not already exempt to play in the Open. The only golfers playing at Argentario this week who are already qualified for the Open are Catlin, Fichardt, Lanagasque, Migliozzi, Jordan Smith, Soderberg, Penge, and Smylie.
