The 2018 Italian Open ended on Sunday 3rd June. This year, the 75th edition of the golf tournament that was part of the European Tour and the Rolex Series, was held in the spectacular setting of the Gardagolf Country Club in Soiano del Lago.

On the banks of Lake Garda, Thorbjørn Olesen captured his 5th European Tour victory, winning also the Rolex Series trophy for the first time, therefore becoming the most prominent Danish golfer in the history of the European Tour.

A superb second place was achieved by Francesco Molinari, who battled on right to the very end (we could say right up to the very last stroke) against the Danish Olesen, thrilling Italian spectators who had rushed to defend the colours of Italian golf, cherishing the dream of a hat-trick, following Molinari’s successes in 2006 and 2016.

34,000 spectators attended throughout the entire Italian Open tournament that, also this year, managed to put on a fantastic show, definitely not only due to the competition itself and the many outstanding players present (Padraig Harrington, Trevor Immelman, Martin Kaymer, Graeme McDowell, Danny Willett and many others).

In fact, there were so many corollary activities and events, starting with the Golf Superabili initiative, in favour of disabled people, to enable them to approach golf, as well as the Family Open area, dedicated to very young children who had the opportunity to try their hand at this magnificent sport, alongside the PGAI Staff and Lounge that received great interest with the Prova il golf (Have a go at golf) initiative, also thanks to Master and PGAI Ambassador Paolo De Ascentiis as well as the many celebrities who took advantage of this occasion to have a few high- quality golf lessons!

Obviously, there was also a wealth of authorities present, more specifically at the awards ceremony, with Franco Chimenti, the CONI Deputy Vice-Chairman and president of the Italian Golf Federation who stated “… We experienced some extraordinary days with an exciting final round. Olesen played some first-class golf and he deserved to win, while our Francesco Molinari came so close to achieving a remarkable endeavour. There were great performances also by Matteo Manassero and Lorenzo Gagli. Italian golf continues along its growth path and once again, I would like to confirm that the Ryder Cup will be held in 2022 in Rome on the Marco Simone Golf & Country Club” course.

© photo – Federazione Italiana Golf