BMW Italian Open preview
The European Tour stops in Italy this week for the BMW Italian Open presented by CartaSi, with Robert Rock defending his maiden tour title at Royal Park Golf & Country Club in Turin
Lowdown:
The European Tour heads to Italy this week for the BMW Italian Open, staged at the Royal Park Golf & Country Club in Turin.
The course was designed by renowned architect Robert Trent Jones Snr, whose courses are famous for landscape art, innovative use of bunkers, tricky greens and widespread use of water hazards.
The course opened in 1971 and will stage the tournament - which was inaugurated in 1972 - for the fourth consecutive year.
The tournament has a distinguished history and an impressive list of winners, including Ian Pouter, Greg Norman, Sam Torrance, Benrhard Langer and Tony Jacklin.
Robert Rock won his maiden European Tour title in this event last year, but will have to perform to the best of his ability if he wants to record a second victory in 2012.
Looking to take his crown are Ryder Cup players Nicolas Colsaerts, Martin Kaymer and Francesco Molinari, whose brother Edoardo returns after a three-month lay-off with a wrist injury.
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The course is a reasonable length but will be dry after a spell of hot weather in Italy, so the emphasis will be on accuracy and course management.
Venue: Royal Park Golf and Country Club, Turin, Italy Date: Sept 13-16 Course stats: Par 72, 7,282 yards Purse: €1,500,000 Defending Champion: Robert Rock (-21)
TV Coverage:
Thursday 13th - Live on Sky Sports 2 from 10.30am Friday 14th - Live on Sky Sports 2 from 10.30am Saturday 15th - Live on Sky Sports 4 from 12pm Sunday 16th - Live on Sky Sports 2 from 12.30pm
Player Watch:
Francesco Molinari - The Italian is making his last start before the Ryder Cup, and will be hoping to add to his Spanish Open triumph earlier this season. He was born in Turin and will be hopeful of success in front of a home crowd.
Martin Kaymer: The German has been in the golfing abyss for the last couple of months, but showed some signs of form at last week's KLM Open, where he recorded his best finish since mid-June.
Thorbjorn Olesen: The talented Dane finished in a tie for second last year on debut, and will be looking to add to his maiden tour victory in Sicily earlier this year. He also matched the course record at Royal Park in 2011 with a closing 62.
Key Hole: 18th. At just 540 yards, this par 5 is reachable for the vast majority of the field, but trouble lurks, with a narrow fairway and water to the right of the green. Expect to see eagles and double-bogeys here.
Skill Required: Accuracy and course management. Royal Park is inundated with water hazards and other strategically placed obstacles, so precision will be more important than power and length off the tee.
Nick Bonfield joined Golf Monthly in 2012 after graduating from Exeter University and earning an NCTJ-accredited journalism diploma from News Associates in Wimbledon. He is responsible for managing production of the magazine, sub-editing, writing, commissioning and coordinating all features across print and online. Most of his online work is opinion-based and typically centres around the Majors and significant events in the global golfing calendar. Nick has been an avid golf fan since the age of ten and became obsessed with the professional game after watching Mike Weir and Shaun Micheel win The Masters and PGA Championship respectively in 2003. In his time with Golf Monthly, he's interviewed the likes of Rory McIlroy, Justin Rose, Jose Maria Olazabal, Henrik Stenson, Padraig Harrington, Lee Westwood and Billy Horschel and has ghost-written columns for Westwood, Wayne Riley, Matthew Southgate, Chris Wood and Eddie Pepperell. Nick is a 12-handicap golfer and his favourite courses include Old Head, Sunningdale New, Penha Longha, Valderrama and Bearwood Lakes. If you have a feature pitch for Nick, please email nick.bonfield@futurenet.com with 'Pitch' in the subject line. Nick is currently playing: Driver: TaylorMade M1 Fairway wood: TaylorMade RBZ Stage 2 Hybrid: Ping Crossover Irons (4-9): Nike Vapor Speed Wedges: Cleveland CBX Full Face, 56˚, Titleist Vokey SM4, 60˚ Putter: testing in progress! Ball: TaylorMade TP5x
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