Matthew Fitzpatrick and Tommy Fleetwood top the betting for the Italian Open and both seem sure to be popular selections for the Rome gathering.
Fitzpatrick and Fleetwood are tidy enough from tee to green to approach the Marco Simone Golf Club with confidence. The course has not been used since 1994, so it is uncharted terrain for the dynamic duo, but their accuracy and ability to churn out greens in regulation stands them in great stead.
Buongiorno!
dal Marco Simone
#DSOpendItalia pic.twitter.com/iBTSyvaevL
— Open d'Italia (@ItalianOpen) September 1, 2021
The question punters must ask themselves, though, is whether odds of 14/1 (Fitzpatrick) and 16/1 are worth taking, given how little form the pair have been showing in recent weeks.
In his last two starts, Fitzpatrick was tailed off in the WGC-FedEx St Jude Invitational and missed the cut by two shots in The Northern Trust to bring an end to his FedEx Cup playoffs campaign. Fleetwood has not had a top-five finish in a strokeplay event since the 2020 Scottish Open – October last year.
Wiesberger Aims to put Crans Pain Behind him
Bernd Wiesberger had the European Masters title at his mercy last Sunday, but hit a horror approach to the final hole and spectacularly blew his winning chance.
The Austrian giant is desperate to qualify for the European Ryder Cup side and make his debut against the United States, but his 72nd-hole double-bogey at Crans-sur-Sierre has left him up against it. The 35-year-old hit his drive into a bunker right of the fairway, then fatted his approach into the water hazard guarding the right-hand side of the green.
A few moments earlier, Rasmus Hojgaard had birdied the same hole, so dropping two shots meant Wiesberger lost by a shot to the fast-finishing Dane.
Wiesberger can still qualify automatically for the European team but Padraig Harrington seems unlikely to pick him. With the likes of Sergio Garcia, Ian Poulter and Justin Rose needing wildcards as things stand, the Italian Open 20/1 chance Wiesberger knows he must perform in Rome.
Migliozzi Ready for National Open Glory
The most attractive option for the Marco Simone GC shootout is arguably the 25/1 about Guido Migliozzi, who is competing in his national Open full of form and confidence.
Migliozzi turned 24 in January and has been seriously impressive since, finishing second in the Qatar Masters, the British Masters and the Made In Himmerland, before an amazing effort in the US Open at Torrey Pines.
Migliozzi turned up at Torrey Pines for his Major debut at a course he had never seen before – a well established PGA Tour venue – and he tied for fourth place. Only Jon Rahm, Louis Oosthuizen and Harris English were able to beat Migliozzi at Torrey, so the Italian youngster enjoyed an enormous injection of self-belief.
After a month off, Migliozzi took a while to get going in the European Masters last week, but a closing 65 for a share of seventh place showed he had found his groove by Sunday. He was also a prolific winner in his homeland as an amateur and is well worth keeping an eye on this week.
*All odds correct at time of writing.
