European Tour Fantasy Golf Picks and Predictions for the 2017 Italian Open
2017 Italian Open Fantasy Preview
Tyrrell Hatton confirmed that he is the European Tour player to watch in 2018 by successfully defending his Alfred Dunhill Championship title in treacherous conditions in Scotland last week.
The Englishman compiled a tally of -24 across the three Links courses to take the honors by three shots from the fast-finishing Ross Fisher, who was in danger of becoming the first player on the European Tour to shoot a round of 59 before three pars to finish condemned him to a -11 round of 61.
We had recognized Hatton’s upturn in form in our preview for the British Masters, where he again played well to hold the 36-hole lead before falling away. Maybe we should have kept the faith in him for just one more week!
After a two-week UK jaunt, the European Tour returns to continental Europe this week for the Italian Open, where local boy Francesco Molinari will be looking to defend his title.
The PGA TOUR stalwart held off the advancing Danny Willett to claim an emotional win on home soil and become the first Italian to taste success in their own national championship.
Francesco Molinari of Italy waves to the crowds after winning the the…
Francesco Molinari of Italy waves to the crowds after winning the the Italian Open at Golf Club Milano – Parco Reale di Monza on September 18, 2016 in Monza, Italy. Get premium, high resolution news photos at Getty Images
Molinari is back in the field this week, and he will do seriously well to hold off the challenge of what is a high-quality collective by European Tour standards. There’s Masters champion Sergio Garcia for starters, plus his highly rated countryman Jon Rahm, while a strong British charge will be led by Tommy Fleetwood, Shane Lowry and Hatton.
Factor in other European favorites such as Alex Noren, Bernd Wiesberger and Martin Kaymer, plus the last five winners on the tour such as Lucas Bjerregaard, Paul Dunne and Romain Wattel, and we can see the size of the task facing Molinari as he attempts the unlikely this week.
Our host venue is the Golf Club Milano in Parco di Monza, and if you saw pictures only of it you would be convinced it was located in England. It’s a standard lush parkland course that is tree-lined and covered with smatterings of bunkers. The fairways are tight (although the rough is fairly forgiving) and the greens are smaller than average – it really does look similar to tracks like Wentworth to the naked eye. Perhaps it’s no surprise that six of the first eleven home here 12 months ago were from England or Scotland.
Actually, just on that Wentworth link, it is noticeable that Molinari and Rikard Karlberg, the last two winners of the Italian Open, have both finished second in the BMW PGA Championship, while Martin Kaymer, Romain Wattel and Jorge Campillo have recorded top-15s in both events in the past two years alone. Just a thought….
Playing at around 7,150 yards for its Par 71, the Golf Club Milano is a fair course that rewards straight hitting. While the stats are less than affirming, the average rankings of the top 11 last year were as follows:
- Driving Accuracy: 28.00
- Driving Distance: 31.27
- Greens in Regulation: 23.82
- Putting Average: 22.27
Those numbers are hardly enlightening, other than to say a decent all-round game is required, as are plenty of birdies – with opportunities aplenty.
There are three Par 5s here and all average under par last year. Indeed, the fourteenth saw 30 eagles and 309 birdies made over the course of the week, as opposed to just eight bogeys.
Timing is key too, with three of the first four holes averaging under par in 2016 and yet three of the last four holes averaged over par, so it could be a tricky conclusion to what could well be a closely-fought battle.
The Italian Open has been moved to later in the European Tour schedule this year after having a rather nomadic presence last year (it took place in the gap just prior to the TOUR Championship 12 months ago). As a result, the field is stronger and we are expecting plenty of low scores to be made.
So who are we drafting for the Italian Open? Let’s have a look…
This Week’s Italian Open Fantasy Picks & Predictions
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