Francisco Molinari tops the betting boards at this week’s Italian Open set to take place between 31 May and 3 June at the Gardagolf Country Club in Brescia.
The Italian Open was first staged in 1925 and became a part of the European Tour with its inception in 1972. The event has been exponentially upgraded by being assimilated into the Rolex Series. It has led to a far stronger field than we had become accustomed to.
This has been further aided by the decision to move the event from October. Tyrell Hatton came here a week after defending the Alfred Dunhill Links last year and managed to pick up perhaps his greatest win, fighting off the likes of Kiradech Aphibarnrat and Ross Fisher in the process.
Italian Open | 31 May – 3 June | Gardagolf CC, Brescia, Italy
The Italian Open has led a nomadic existence and was last staged at this course in 2007. Gardagolf CC is a tree-lined composite of the Red and White courses. It has undulating fairways that are apparently somewhat deceptive when watching on the television. The tiny greens are much like Valderrama and will test the touch of the players severely. In reality there is little to go for analysis-wise this week, though it seems that accuracy off the tee and a strong iron game will be more crucial than booming tee shots this week.
The event has actually managed to attract a fairly decent roster considering the Memorial Tournament that is being staged in America. Last year’s money-list winner Tommy Fleetwood will be looking to rebound after a somewhat disappointing week at Wentworth. Wentworth champion Francisco Molinari well no doubt have solid home support egging him on towards back-to-back victories this week. Alex Noren and Ian Poulter are amongst other likely contenders in what looks set to be a thrilling second edition to the Rolex Series this week.
Past Winners
2017: Tyrell Hatton (-21)
2016: Francesco Molinari (-22)
2015: Rikard Karlberg (-19)*playoff
2014: Hennie Otto (-20)
2013: Julien Quesne (-12)
To Win Outright:
Francisco Molinari 10/1 | Alex Noren 11/1 | Tommy Fleetwood 11/1 | Ian Poulter 16/1 | Matthew Fitzpatrick 18/1
Value Bets
Rafa Cabrera-Bello- To Win 22/1, To Place 48/10
The elegant Spaniard perhaps doesn’t contend for victory as much as his talent deserves. But there are signs that a big victory is not too far away for a man with sensational iron abilities. A top 10 at Wentworth showed that his game is in fine fiddle. His ability to hit long and accurately with his driver and irons should come in handy this week. He has four top 10’s on the European Tour out of eight events. That, coupled with three top 10’s on the PGA Tour, hint at just how dangerous he could be this week.
Lee Westwood- To Win 45/1, To Place 19/1
Lee Westwood managed to perform relatively well last week considering he hadn’t played in two months- well for three rounds at least. Westwood shot rounds of 70-69-69 and was sitting in a tie for seventh going into Sunday. It never happened for him on Sunday but the event would have done the world of good for him. Westwood has the added advantage of decent experience on this unique course, with a tie for sixth at this venue in 1997. His experience at Wentworth should have prepared him perfectly for this similarly tree-line course. His sixth in scrambling last week also seems to suggest that his game doesn’t need too much sharpening.
Robert Rock- To Win 80/1, To Place 17/1
This one has a fair degree of speculation about it, but Rock has actually been in a decent vein of form this season. He has a top 10 and two top 20’s in his last six starts. That included a tie for 20th at Wentworth last week. He also has a top 30 in Spain. He is clearly a player suited more to smaller, tighter courses. Furthermore, Rock has shown the capacity to win on Italian soil, claiming the Italian Open in 2011.
The Man to Beat- Matthew Fitzpatrick- To Win 18/1, To Place 39/10
Four-time European Tour winner Matthew Fitzpatrick is a proven European Tour Champion with the type of accurate iron-play that should suit this course. His wins at Crans and Woburn also point at a suitability with this golf course. He actually had a chance to win the Italian Opern at Milano prior to his breakthrough at the British Masters. This, coupled with a seventh in Italy on the Challenge Tour, hint at a comfort in Italy. His eighth last week in Wentworth bodes well, especially considering that he didn’t play particularly well.
Written by Damien Kayat for @Hollywoodbets.net
