Italian golf wins in Turin, with an extraordinary edition of the Open and a sold out crowd of 30 spectators, thanks to the wise choice of free admission which attracts many enthusiasts and some onlookers. On the pitch, unfortunately, the Azzurri left too many shots on the last day and the first prize went to Julien Quesne, 33 years old Frenchman from Le Mans, who finished at -12. Sixteenth place for Francesco Molinari, fantastic on the third day, but not very convincing yesterday and therefore “a bit disappointed”; 42nd Matteo Manassero, who admits "I couldn't find the right race pace"; 38th Renato Paratore, very young amateur of the Park of Rome, new hope of tricolor golf. Quesne takes home 250 thousand euros and makes a big leap in the world ranking and in the Race to Dubai, the classification of the European tour.
Meanwhile, in the USA a European wins the championship: the Swede Henrik Stenson, in amazing and incomparable form, conquers the Tour Championship by Coca Cola and wins the 10 million dollar bonus from the FedExCup. Stenson, 37, who fell to number 220 in the world 2 years ago, wins the most coveted prize and returns to number 4 in the Ranking: "This shows that I never give up - he says - it is a result that goes beyond my expectations". The Swede has a powerful swing and a decisive character, he's very nice but also quick-tempered and only last week he smashed the head of a drive that he couldn't keep on track. This week, however, everything went as he dreamed.
It is the first time that a player from the old continent dominates the top of this ranking, at least in the updated version from 2007 onwards. Stenson hits the target and in one fell swoop gets a stellar prize, in fact he also adds 10 million dollars from the last playoff to the 1,440 million. Not even Tiger Woods manages to stem Stenson's explosive strength and on the first day, when they play together, he suffers heavily. The Swede captures all the flags while Tiger fails to sink even a putt. The result is that the former climbs to the top of the race and never gets off his podium, while the latter falls to the bottom of the standings and maintains his second place in Fedex thanks to the points accumulated previously.
For Tiger, however, there are a 3 million dollar consolation bonus, a dream figure for everyone. But the champion, from the top of the mountain of prize money accumulated in his career, wants more confirmations of his game and at this stage he can't find them. In 2013 he won 5 times, more than anyone else, he is first in the world rankings, but he could miss being recognized as player of the year, because without majors, he does not shine in the FedExCup and accumulates accidents on the rules. Competing for the primacy are Stenson, Adam Scott, Australian, winner of the Masters, fourth at Fedex; Phil Mickelson, US, Open Championship winner, XNUMXth in Fedex.
The 2013 American season ends here, but the good tournaments don't end: in fact, in two weeks the USA will take the field against the rest of the world (not Europe) for the President Cup, a low-key version of the Ryder Cup, but without the Europeans. The rest of the world has almost never won, but this time on the other side of the fence there are players of the caliber of Adam Scott and the matches will all be played and followed.
The European tour however is still in full swing. Next week he moves to Scotland, for the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, on the Old Course St. Andrews, the temple of golf. It will be a parade of stars, with an attractive prize pool of 5 million dollars. Instead, for the four tournaments of the grand finale, we have to wait until the end of October, when there will be four very rich and top-level appointments. Occasions in which many European "stars" will also participate, who now live permanently in the USA. In fact, we must not forget that Henrik Stenson is first, for now, also in the Race to Dubai and, starting from Shanghai, he will want to defend his position until the end, leaving himself the opportunity to make a real feast of securities and prize money.
