Thirteen South Africans, led by Dylan Frittelli, will line up at the Italian Open hoping to build on the momentum of last week’s solid run at the BMW PGA Championship.
The second Rolex Series event tees off on Thursday at the Gardagolf CC as the Saffas face a stacked field, which includes reigning Race to Dubai leader Tommy Fleetwood, in-form Swede Alex Noren, last week’s winner Francesco Molinari, Spain’s Rafa Cabrera-Bello, Ryder Cup legend Ian Poulter and defending champion Tyrrell Hatton.
Molinari, a two-time Italian Open winner, will return to action in his home country and is out at 8:40am in the first round with Englishman Ross Fisher, fresh off a top 10 at Wentworth, and Belgium’s Thomas Pieters.
Frittelli heads into the week after a missed cut at Wentworth but remains the highest-ranked player in terms of Race to Dubai position (23) and world ranking (58). The two-time European Tour winner begins his venture with BMW SA Open champion Chris Paisley and big-hitting Belgian Nicolas Colsaerts for company.
Of the five players who impressed the most last week, only Branden Grace (playing at The Memorial) misses a chance to improve on a top-20 place in Italy.
Darren Fichardt was next best in London after finishing seventh alone and will be off with Brits Richie Ramsay and Matthew Southgate in the opening two rounds. Dean Burmester, Erik van Rooyen and Jacques Kruyswijk all impressed and will be looking to add further Euros to their accounts after catching some good form in Europe’s flagship event.
George Coetzee was the top-performing player in last year’s edition after claiming a top-10 finish but won’t be able to lean on his experience with the change in venue from the Golf Club Milano to Gardagolf CC.
Marcus Kinhult joins Thomas Aiken and Zander Lombard in the first two rounds in the only group that has more than one South African player.
Full Saffa tee sheet for round one (no time delay):
Photo: Richard Heathcote/Getty Images
