Three players from Italy a first ever at Augusta
Were it not for Tiger Woods’ return to golf, the buildup to the 2010 Masters might have centered on Lee Westwood, Paul Casey and Ian Poulter — three Englishmen ranked among the world’s top seven, each searching for his long-awaited first major.
But there’s another interesting storyline at Augusta this week featuring a trio of players from another European country.
When the 74th Masters gets under way Thursday, it will include, for the first time, three Italians — 16-year-old Matteo Manassero and brothers Edoardo and Francesco Molinari.
By virtue of his victory in the British Amateur, Manassero becomes the youngest player in Masters history. The Molinaris are the first brothers to compete at Augusta since Japan’s Jumbo and Joe Ozaki in 2000.
“No one ever dreamt of having three [Italians] at the Masters,” Edoardo Molinari said two weeks ago at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. “Hopefully everyone is excited. And there is the Italian Open a month after the Masters, and hopefully we will be see big crowds. That means something is changing.”
No player from Italy has won a major championship. Costantino Rocca came the closest, losing to John Daly in a playoff in the 1995 British Open and playing in the final twosome with Tiger Woods in his historic 1997 Masters triumph.
When asked about an Italian player he looked up to, Manassero answered “Seve Ballesteros,” a Spaniard. But Manassero, who spoke Tuesday at Augusta without an interpreter, might have misunderstood.
“Italian? Sorry. Of course, Rocca,” said Manassero, who is from Verona. “I used to watch him on television and imitate what he was doing.”
Manassero will play the first two rounds with Westwood and former Masters champion Mike Weir. As a high school student and amateur playing in his first major tournament, simply making the cut would be a huge accomplishment.
The Molinaris, who grew up in Turin, have bigger goals this week. While Francesco, 27, was finishing in a tie for fourth two weeks ago in a European Tour event in Spain, Edoardo, 29, tied for second behind Ernie Els at Bay Hill to vault past his brother in the world rankings. While Edoardo is No. 35, Francesco ranks No. 41.
“Finishing second is great for my confidence going into the Masters and knowing that I’m able to perform well in the States as well,” Molinari told reporters.
On Thanksgiving Day weekend in China, the Molinaris led Italy to its first World Cup title. In the two-man, better-ball event, Edoardo and Francesco edged the Irish duo of Rory McIlroy and Graeme McDowell and Swedes Robert Karlsson and Henrik Stenson by a stroke each.
This will not be the Molinaris’ first trip to Augusta. In 2006, as reigning U.S. Amateur champion, Edoardo — as is Masters tradition — played two rounds with reigning U.S. Open champion Woods. With Francesco serving as caddie, Edoardo shot 80-77, missing the cut by eight strokes but thoroughly enjoying the experience.
“It was a dream,” Edoardo Molinari said. “We had the time of our lives.”
