History of the Open

Two other characters characterised the pre-war period, Percy Alliss and Senator Agnelli, Gianni’s grandfather. Alliss was the third winner in chronological order (1927). He is remembered in close association with his son Peter who won the title in 1958, the only case of double success in one family. Senator Agnelli, on the other hand, anticipated the times with great foresight by launching the first real promotional campaign for golf tourism. To publicise the course he had built at Sestrieres, he hired Henry Cotton, who already boasted two Open Championships in his achievements, with the intention of attracting wealthy English fans. Cotton defeated his opponents and the senator achieved his goal in full. From Great Britain there was a sort of pilgrimage to play on the course suddenly made famous by the champion. The effect, however, quickly wore off because of the war.

The second of the three phases into which the life of the Italian Open can be divided began in 1947 and was certainly the one most favourable to the Italians. There were, in fact, the victories of Aldo Casera (1948) and Ugo Grappasonni (1950-1954) and the Italians finished second nine times. Casera and Grappasonni were two of the ‘three musketeers’ who dominated the national scene at that time. The third, Alfonso Angelini, did not manage to win the title, but came second three times (1950, 1958, 1959). He won the National Omnium Championship, now renamed the National Open Championship, ten times. A record that is sure to remain unbeaten.

After the 1960 edition, the tournament was suspended until 1971. When it reappeared on the Garlenda course, the uncle of Severiano Ballesteros (Ramon Sota) won. The competition thus entered its modern phase. Yesterday’s champions (Billy Casper who triumphed in Monticello in 1975 at the handsome age of 44, the oldest winning player), of the moment (Tony Jacklin, 1973, Peter Oosterhuis, 1974, Dale Hayes, 1978) and of tomorrow (José Maria Cañizares and the very young Bernhard Langer who overcame the equally emerging Seve Ballesteros and Ken Brown in the play-off in Florence) came to the fore.

Two more wins came for the Italians with Baldovino Dassù (Is Molas, 1976) and Massimo Mannelli (Rome, 1980). The former with eight strokes and the record for the largest gap inflicted on the runner-up (on that occasion Manuel Piñero and Carl Mason) that still holds to this day.

In 1988 at Monticello, Greg Norman,had time to go to Maranello to buy a Ferrari, got a little distracted but managed to overtake Craig Parry on the last holes and avoid making a fool of himself. The Open organised by the late Mario Pinzi’s Promomax followed. In 1991 Pinzi recruited Ian Woosnam and Olazabal after having been great protagonists at the Augusta Masters where they finished first and second. They were, however, mocked by the tenacious Craig Parry. Costantino Rocca finished third, he had the chance to win in 1995 at Le Rovedine, but in the final Sam Torrance prevailed, in his second win after 1987. The roll of gold was also signed by Sandy Lyle (1984, 1992), Eduardo Romero (1994) and again by Bernhard Langer (1997).

At the turn of the century, the Italian Open became a springboard for young talent, including the first European Tour title for Ian Poulter in 2000 (which he won again in 2002).

In 2003, the Italian Golf Federation took over the reins of the event with its own organising committee and a forward-looking agreement with the European Tour. The following year, the tournament was won by Graeme McDowell, who would later go on to win the Major Championship and the Ryder Cup.

In 2006, Francesco Molinari claimed his seventh home victory, 26 years after the previous one.

Fernandez Castaño was also a good professional player, scoring in 2007 (and then again in 2012). Then three outsiders, the South African Hennie Otto (2008, repeated in 2014), the Argentinean Daniel Vancsik (2009) and the Swede Fredrik Andersson-Hed (2010), anticipated a new organisational phase with the intervention of RCS Sport. In 2011, the Englishman Robert Rock took the stage, an imaginative player who confirmed his qualities and won the following year in Abu Dhabi. In 2012, the fourth consecutive edition broadcast at the Royal Park I Roveri G & CC after the five-year period at the Castello di Tolcinasco G & CC, brought Gonzalo Fernandez Castaño into the limelight, who overcame South African Garth Mulroy to sign his sixth title on the continental circuit.

In 2013, nearly 30,000 spectators flocked to Circolo Golf Torino La Mandria for Julien Quesne’s capture of his second European Tour title, thanks to Italian Golf Federation President Franco Chimenti’s decision to grant free entry to promote golf.

In 2014, the venue for the 71st edition was the Circolo Golf Torino, a popular venue that attracted an even bigger crowd, with 34,500 spectators watching a tournament won by South African Hennie Otto – whose first European Tour victory was in 2008.

From 2015 to 2017, the Italian Open moved to the Golf Club Milano, surrounded by the magnificent scenery of the Parco di Monza, in which the large crowds showed their love for golf: 173,000 admissions in three years (50,000 in 2015, 47,000 in 2016 and 73,000 in 2017), a new record of attendance for a golf tournament in Italy – and the bad weather on the first two days of 2016 unfortunately prevented even bigger numbers from being reached.

The 2015 champion was Sweden’s Rikard Karlberg, who against all odds defeated Martin Kaymer in a sudden-death playoff. It was the first title for Karlberg, who took advantage of some mistakes by the German champion and signed his victory with a birdie on the second extra hole. Francesco Molinari finished 13th, but a promising Italian amateur, Lorenzo Scalise, did better than him as the tournament’s best Italian player (11th).
Molinari improved the following year, winning the 73rd Italian Open in style, after a head-to-head match with Danny Willett, who had won the Masters only a few months earlier. ‘Chicco’ added this spectacular victory to his trophy cabinet in front of a crowd of 16,000, 10 years after the first title of his professional career, won at Castello di Tolcinasco. He is now only the second Italian after Ugo Grappasonni to boast two national title victories.

In 2017, the 74th edition of the Italian Open, the first Rolex Series event to be played in Italy with a record prize pool of $7 million, delivered another incredible triumph, with Tyrrell Hatton sealing his second European Tour victory in seven days with a brilliant birdie at the last hole to clinch the title, following his success the previous week at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in Scotland.

The 78th and 79th editions were played on the 2023 Ryder Cup course at the Marco Simone Golf & Country Club, which will also host the 80th edition before the big Ryder Cup event.