They are the golden couple of the Ryder Cup, great friends on the field and in life, but this week they return to the role of opponents for the British Masters: we are talking about Francesco Molinari and Tommy Fleetwood, protagonists of the last Europe-USA match won by starry blues. Francesco is now one of the strongest players in the world, number 6 in the World Ranking and leader of the Race to Dubai, the European ranking.
But Fleetwood is no joke either: according to last week in the Dunhill Links, he is number 11 in the world and direct follower of the Turinese in the continental "championship". In short, two talents who will certainly contribute to animating the race, from today to Sunday, on the Walton Heath GC course, at Walton on the Hill in England.
Two other protagonists from Paris, Justin Rose and Thorbjorn Olesen, also take the field, as well as the practically complete technical staff of the European team: captain Thomas Bjorn and four vice captains, Lee Westwoodm Luke Donald, Padraig Harrington, Robert Karlsson. Five other Italians are in the race: Francesco's brother, Edoardo Molinari, Matteo Manassero, Andrea Pavan, Renato Paratore and Nino Bertasio.
Also to follow are the German Martin Kaymer, the Dane Lucas Bjerregaard, back from his success in the Dunhill Links, the British Danny Willett, Chris Wood and Matthew Fitzpatrick, the South Africans Charl Schwartzel and Dean Burmester, the Thai Thongchai Jaidee and the Chinese Haotong Li. He defends the title, probably with little chance, the Irishman Paul Dunne. The prize pool is 3,420 million euros.
Meanwhile, the Italian Golf Federation has chosen the venue for the Italian Open for 2019: it will be the splendid course of the Olgiata Golf Club in Rome. The race will be played in exactly one year, from 10 to 13 October and will be included again in the Rolex Series of the European Tour. There will be 7 million dollars up for grabs, prize money that the Italian open will put on the plate until 2027.
