Five Italians attempt the climb to the Portugal Masters this week, in Vilamoura, in the Algarve, on the course of the Oceanico Victoria Golf Club. They are Matteo Manassero, Marco Crespi, Alessandro Tadini, Renato Paratore and Andrea Pavan, all needing to achieve a good result.
For Manassero the imperative is to get out of the spiral of eleven consecutive missed cuts, a precipice that seems endless for the 22-year-old, already winner of 4 tournaments in his career.
Paratore, 19 years old, number 108 in the order of merit in the Race to Dubai (the European ranking), has to change pace because his "card", a sort of report card for the main circuit, is very much at risk.
Crespi and Tadini are in worse shape (134 and 149) and need to bring home at least 100 euros to enter the top 110 of the circuit and guarantee direct entry to the Qualifying School final (where those without a card must return for qualifications). Pavan (193rd) must aim for the podium of the tournament, because he needs at least one placement in the top three.
The prize pool is high for Europe: two million euros, of which almost 334 thousand will go to the winner. The field is good: there are, among the other three major winners such as Martin Kaymer, Padraig Herrington and Darren Clarke.
Anyone who wants to follow the troubles and hopes of the blue quintet can watch the tournament on Sky Sport, live, from today to Sunday.
A few thousand kilometers away, having flown over the ocean, the Frys.com Open takes place in Napa, Florida, on the northern course of the Silverado Golf Club, a tournament that inaugurates the new season in the USA. The 2015-2016 American championship begins today and among the best on the track we find world number three Rory McIlroy and number seven Justin Rose (respectively number 1 and 5 in the Race to Dubai).
For Rory it is an indispensable running-in after the ankle accident and for both a good workout before the rich final tournaments of the European circuit. In the US, on the other hand, it debuts with a prize pool that can be tempting: six million dollars, over a million for the former.
