Five things to know: Italian Open presented by Regione Emilia-Romagna
The DP World Tour visits a new first-time venue this week at the penultimate event on the European Swing. Here are your five things to know.
New venue
After a three-year stay at Marco Simone Golf & Country Club, host venue of the 2023 Ryder Cup, Italy’s national Open is this year being staged at the Adriatic Golf Club in Cervia.
It is the first time in 31 years the event has been played in the region of Emilia-Romagna, after New Zealand’s Greg Turner claimed the title at Modena Golf & Country Club in 1993.
The Adriatic Golf Club features three sets of nine holes, with the tournament being played across the Yellow Course (holes 1-9) and the Red Course (holes 10-18), making for a 6,965-yard par 70 examination.
Over the last nine months, there has been a total reconstruction of all the bunkers on the course and they have been rebuilt and reshaped to a high specification.
With the rough set to be at a heigh of approximately 80mm, and fairways at least narrowed by a couple of yards either side, accuracy off the tee will be imperative to aid players to find the small greens.
There are also alterations to tee boxes at the par-three sixth, par-four ninth and par-three 14th, while the plan is to move the tee forward at the par-four 18th over the weekend to make it play around 300 yards and thereby driveable for all the field.
Adriatic Golf Club will host the 81st edition of the Italian Open
History of the event
Italy’s national Open was founded in 1925 and last year celebrated its 80th anniversary.
It was one of the DP World Tour’s founding events in 1972 and has been an ever-present since, while it also formed part of the Rolex Series for three years from 2017.
The trophy has previously been lifted by some of golf’s greatest names including Peter Thomson, Tony Jacklin, Billy Casper, Bernhard Langer, Sandy Lyle and Sam Torrance.
The last three editions have been won by Nicolai Højgaard, Robert MacIntyre and Adrian Meronk respectively.
It will not be the only major international sporting event in the region, with the Tour de France – starting in Italy for the first time – passing the venue during its second stage on Sunday.