Golf, Italy has seven players on the Tour in 2024

The Ryder was a global success that put Italy before the eyes of the entire golf universe, now it’s time to reap the benefits here. We will see whether the number of golfers will increase, whether new clubs will open, whether the number of tourists will grow, we will see in the coming months and years, but to push the accelerator, Italian golf also needs top results.

2023 was a bit stingy with satisfactions on the major tour, the DP World, while it was truly triumphant on the Challenge with four different winners – Matteo Manassero, Lorenzo Scalise, Andrea Pavan and Francesco Laporta – and five total successes thanks to the double of Manassero. And precisely because of these triumphs in 2024 we will be able to boast at least seven players with full cards on the DP World Tour, then there will also be the Qualifying School which could increase the number. Together with Guido Migliozzi and the Molinari brothers, Edoardo and Francesco, who confirmed the card they had this year, there will also be the quartet of winners on the Challenge, a circuit which still has one race scheduled, the grand final from 2 to 5 November in Mallorca, Spain, where only the best 45 in the order of merit qualified. At the end, the top 20 in the general ranking will move up in category. Scalise, Pavan and Manassero occupy the 6th, 7th and 8th position respectively and are already certain of promotion. Thanks to 3rd place in China in the Hainan Open, Laporta has climbed four steps and is now 15th on the “Road to Mallorca” one step away from arithmetic qualification.

The calculations

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Laporta can feel quite calm and start making plans for next year. To stay out of the “magnificent 20” he would have to be overtaken by the six players who are behind him in the rankings. But for this to happen the six pursuers would have to occupy all of the top six positions of the tournament and he not be ranked in the top 30. In short, all it takes is for one of the six to finish seventh or worse and Laporta would be promoted. The Apulian would thus return fully to the DP World after just one year of “purgatory”. The return Manassero’s return to the top is also very significant. Matteo was the child prodigy of our golf, ten years ago he won the European PGA Championship at Wentworth before slipping into a dramatic technical-emotional crisis. For three or four seasons he has started a slow but constant rise which has finally brought him back to the place he deserves. In the meantime he married Francesca who was decisive both in his private and sporting life. Matteo won her two tournaments with her carrying the bag for him in the role of caddy: first in Denmark and then in Italy, at the Golf Nazionale di Sutri. As he explained to the Gazzetta: “Francesca gives me balance and takes away stress. She gives a broader perspective to things simply by being there. She manages every moment in a clear and calm manner and this is very good for me. Twice with her as caddy and twice victories, it can’t be a coincidence. But the most beautiful thing is being able to share certain moments and certain emotions with her.”

Half grain

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Next year among the seven there will also be Francesco Molinari who a few months ago returned to live with his whole family in Italy, in his Turin, leaving Los Angeles where he moved in 2020 after many years in London. We can therefore expect a greater presence in European races. “It will certainly be like this, even if at the moment I still want to play my cards in America at least until June. Unfortunately the difference in tournaments is so great that for the points up for grabs it makes sense to play there as long as I can. Then in the summer maybe I will give more space to Europe until hopefully the Olympics.” From tomorrow Chicco will be busy at the Andalusia Open together with his brother Edoardo and Migliozzi. The DP World Tour has only 4 races left, after Spain it will stop in Qatar, South Africa and will close the season in Dubai from 16 to 19 November.