Also he golf is tinged with blue this week, in California, thanks to the presence of three Italians at the Us Open, third major of the season. The 121st edition of this event, from today to Sunday, takes place on the mythical Torrey Pines course in La Jolla, San Diego county, where Tiger Woods won his third and last US Open on one leg in 2008.
For Italy they qualified the Molinari brothers, Edoardo and Francesco, and Guido Migliozzi, twenty-four years old from Vicenza making his debut in a Grand Slam event.
Francesco he is the most famous and noble of the three, as he boasts about ten victories, including a major and various participations in the Ryder cup. Lately his performance has dropped a lot and so has his place in the world rankings, where he now occupies position number 173. Furthermore, the 39-year-old from Turin recently had to withdraw from the Pga Championship, a few minutes before the start, due to a problem in the back. The fact that Pello Iguaran, the caddy who accompanied him in all of his most important victories, bodes well for him in California again.
Edoardo, Chicco's older brother, is 40 years old and has an engineering degree, put on hold to make room for his great golfing talent. He boasts quite a palmares, but lost his magic touch on the greens after a wrist operation. He hasn't played a major in six years and last time, in 2015, he didn't pass the cut. As an amateur, in 2005 he became the first Italian and the first European golfer to win the US Amateu.r then guaranteeing himself the opportunity to play, in 2006, The Masters, the Open Championship and the US Open. Circumstance that led him to postpone the transition to professionalism by about 7 months, compared to expected.
Improvements he is the youngest and on the European tour, as a rookie, in 2019, he achieved two successes; at the moment he is the number one player in Italy. For the first time he plays overseas and has to deal with the elite of this sport, because everyone or almost everyone responds to the call of a major, moreover this is the last train for those who aspire to the Tokyo Olympic games, given that the qualifications will close on June 21st.
Among the 156 challengers it is a must to mention Bryson DeChambeau, the crazy and hilarious American player who has invented a method of his own to shoot the ball very long and in the middle of the track, even if the attempt is not always crowned with success. Bryson is the reigning champion and will certainly try to confirm his place on the podium.
Stars and stripes cheering, however, will be all for Phil Mickelson, a local native who turned 51 yesterday and is a star player who has had the only misfortune in his life to play in the Tiger era, when it overshadowed all other talent. Mickelson's career, in the end, could prove to be longer than that of his famous rival. The left-handed, in fact, won his last major (the Pga Championship) a few weeks ago, becoming the oldest player ever to accomplish this feat. Unfortunately the US Open is missing from his collection and it is a bad match, which has always escaped him by a whisker, where he boasts the record of runner up in six editions.
Among the prominent names can not miss Dustin Johnson, number one in the world, winner of the 2016 edition. To keep an eye on is Jon Rahm, a big favorite at the box office. The Spaniard returns to competition with a great desire for redemption after the forced withdrawal due to Covid, a few weeks ago, at the Memorial Tournament, which he was absolutely dominating. They will try to prevail over their rivals and on the field too Brooks Koepka (2017 and 2018 sample), Rory McIlroy (scored in 2011), Collin morikawa, Xander Scheatele (who plays at home having been born in San Diego), Jordan Spieth (winner in 2015), Hideki Matsuyama (2021 Masters champion) e Patrick Reed who, in Torrey Pines, won the Farmers Insurance Open last January and now aims to emulate Ben Hogan, Jack Nicklaus and Woods as the fourth player to win on the same field and in the same year in an event of the PGA Tour and at the US Open.
È justified absent Tiger Woods, who won't be in La Jolla even as a spectator, because he's undergoing rehabilitation after the serious car accident he was involved in in Los Angeles. In any case, the USGA has a plaque ready for the champion that celebrates the iconic moment of the putt for the birdie holed on the 18th hole (the last of the fourth round) at Torrey Pines in 2008, a feat that postponed the dispute with Rocco Mediate to the play -off.
