Matteo Manassero wins the Italian Challenge Open with an aggregate score of -21 (267) and a final card of 67 (-5), leaving England's Will Enefer three strokes behind. Two Frenchmen in the top 5, Pierre Pineau, achieved a remarkable performance with a card of 62 (-10), allowing him to take fifth place alongside Robin Roussel, who posted an excellent 65 (-7).

Italian Challenge Open: Matteo Manassero wins at home

Matteo Manassero during the Italian Challenge Open 2023 / ©Twitter -Challenge Tour

Matteo manassero, who had already scored a victory in May at the tournament in Denmark, repeats his achievement at home, north of Rome, in the most prestigious tournament of the Challenge Tour regular season.

Having already taken the lead the day before, the former Italian golf prodigy was able to resist the attacks of his closest competitors, in particular the Englishman Will Enefer, which briefly held the top spot, and from the German Mark Hammer. By finishing his last round with a score of 67 (-5), Manassero finally won the tournament with a three-point lead over Enefer. Hammer settles for third place with a score of -17.

This double success now guarantees a return to the elite for Matteo Manassero, quadruple winner on the European Tour. He had not only lost his card at the end of the 2019 season, but also his golf game. Completely disoriented, Manassero, former amateur world number one and winner of the British Open amateur at the age of 16 in 2009, had even found himself on the Alps Tour.

It is therefore the fourth Italian victory on the Challenge Tour this year, after those ofAndrew Pavan et Lorenzo Scalise in June in the Czech Republic. It comes at the right time as the 44th Ryder Cup looms on the horizon, scheduled for September 29-October 1 at the Marco Simone Golf & Country Club in Rome.

The other protagonist of the day was Pierre Pineau. The French golfer ignited the Golf Nazionale in Viterbo by shooting an incredible 62 (-10) without any errors. Under the tutelage of his coach Guillaume Biaugeaud, he won a magnificent fifth place at -14 (274), just like Robin Roussel, who also produced a solid performance with a score of 65 (-7) including no less than six birdies between holes 10 and 16. The other French golfers who managed to pass the cut on Friday finished beyond 30th place.

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