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European Tour Fantasy Golf Predictions – Italian Open

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2018 Italian Open Preview

They say that in life, timing is everything. And it would appear everything is falling into place in a timely fashion for Francesco Molinari right now.

He was neck-and-neck with Rory McIlroy in last week’s BMW PGA Championship at the 54-hole stage, and playing in the final group most fancied the Irishman to take the spoils ahead of the Italian, who notoriously has a problem getting over the line.

But this time it was Molinari who had his way, sealing the deal with a flourish to land a two-stroke victory.

Francesco Molinari of Italy is sprayed with champagne after victory…

Francesco Molinari of Italy is sprayed with champagne after victory in the final round of the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth on May 27, 2018 in Virginia Water, England. Get premium, high resolution news photos at Getty Images

That was the first Rolex Series event of the season, and the second follows immediately this week: the Italian Open, another lucrative payday but for Molinari a chance to secure some more national hero status. He is a two-time winner of his home tournament, and it is an event in which he clearly thrives in front of his adoring countrymen.

Mind you, ‘Frankie’ and the rest of the field will have a different test to overcome this week. After three years as host Gold Club Milano has been jettisoned in favor of the Gardagolf club in Brescia, located not a million miles from the Swiss border. This layout hasn’t been used in a European Tour level event since 2003, and so unfortunately we are fumbling around in the dark somewhat when making our draft this week.

The usual language to describe the course is on point: beautiful olive groves, sweeping fairways and views of Lake Garda all get a mention, and the layout does look rather picturesque in the variety of images available online. There is a certain depth to the trees that line the fairways, while water hazards cut into various holes at points which suggest that accuracy and ball striking could be the order of the day.

As for actual reference points, the course will play at around 7,201 yards for its Par 71, with just three par 5s to play with. And Golf Magazine has labelled the second hole as one of the 500 best on the planet. A par 3 played from an elevated tee box, the green is bordered by a lake and a stunning flowerbed. For these players it shouldn’t provide too many problems, but it is certainly an aesthetically-pleasing stretch.

Otherwise, we have very little to go on of any relevance. But one snippet that we must of course keep in mind is that this is a Rolex Series event. There’s a massive paycheck up for grabs and stacks of Race to Dubai points, and if we cycle through the list of most recent Rolex winners on the European Tour – Molinari, Jon Rahm, Branden Grace, Tommy Fleetwood, Justin Rose, Tyrrell Hatton, Rafa Cabrera-Bello and Alex Noren – we note that only classy sorts need apply this week.

With that in mind, who makes our draft for the Italian Open this week?

This Week’s Italian Open Fantasy Picks & Predictions

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