Austria’s Bern Wiesberger added the Italian Open to his Made in Denmark and Scottish Open victories in 2019. Picture by GETTY IMAGES

BERND Wiesberger claimed his second Rolex Series title of 2019 and third European Tour victory of the season with a hard-fought victory in the Italian Open.

The Austrian started the day three shots behind overnight leader Matthew Fitzpatrick, but carded a bogey-free final round of 65 to finish one shot clear of the Yorkshireman on 16-under.

Wiesberger, who now has a realistic chance of ending the season as the European No. 1, said: “It’s been a great summer for me. I’ve had a lot of good golf shown and a lot of progress after coming back from the last year.

“I’ve won three times this year and it’s been the same every time, I’ve just really enjoyed my time and I’m positive to be back out there because I know how tough it was when I had to withdraw from these great events.

“I’ve played really well in the right events in Ireland and the Scottish and here this week which helps getting up there in the Race to Dubai. I feel excited about what is ahead of us in these last four events.”

Wiesberger posted three consecutive birdies from the fifth hole followed by a further gain on the ninth.

And he went to the top of the leaderboard when Fitzpatrick, who had birdied the second, hit it out of bounds on the ninth leading to a double bogey.

He looked comfortably in control on the back nine with birdies on the 14th and 16th holes.

But Fitzpatrick staged an impressive fightback with three birdies in his final six holes, however the former Ryder Cup player could not find another on the last as he came up one stroke short.

That meant Wiesberger became the fifth player to win multiple Rolex Series titles after his maiden win in the Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open, in July.

Wiesberger joins John Rahm, Justin Rose, Alex Noren and Danny Willett as multiple Rolex Series winners.

The 34-year-old now leads the European Tour’s Race to Dubai with just six events remaining, having also won May’s Made in Denmark following seven months on the sidelines in 2018 due to a wrist injury.

Fitzpatrick signed for a round of 69 for a total of 15-under as he finished runner-up for the fourth time this season, having also come second in the Honma Hong Kong Open, the BMW International and the Scandinavian Invitation.

A disappointed Fitzpatrick said: “To lose by one is obviously very disappointing.

“I think I’ve played well when I’ve been up there on a Sunday, just other people really keep grinding and I keep coming up from behind.

“It is what it is. It’s still a great week, I’m here to win and not here to just make up the numbers.”

American Kurt Kitayama finished third on 12-under after a 71, a shot clear of Middlesex’s Andrew Johnston (68), Scot Robert MacIntyre (71) and another Austrian in Matthias Schwab (66), who shared fourth on 11-under.

Francesco Laporta posted a final round 68 to finish as the leading Italian player in a three-way share of seventh place.

•For the final results in the Italian Open click here.

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Hallamshire’s Matt Fitzpatrick produced four birdies in five holes on the back nine at Oligata GC, near Rome, to take a one-shot lead into the final round of the Italian Open.
Picture by GETTY IMAGES

YORKSHIRE’S Matthew Fitzpatrick staged an impressive fightback with four birdies in his final six holes to maintain his one-shot lead going into the final round of the Italian Open.

The former Ryder Cup player bogeyed the second hole after an opening birdie and then slipped to one over par for his third round with a further bogey on the 10th hole at Rome’s Oligata GC.

But the former US Amateur Champion rallied impressively with birdies on the 13^th, 15^th, 16^th and 17^th holes to sign for a round of 68 – and preserve his one shot overnight advantage after posting 13-under.

Fitzpatrick, who grew up playing junior golf at Sheffield’s Hallamshire Golf Club, praised his caddie Billy Foster – one of the most experienced on Toru – for keeping him on track for his first win of 2019.

Fitzpatrick said: “Billy just kept talking me through it, saying just be patient.

“I said to him down the hill on 12, it didn’t feel like I should be one-over. It felt like the way my swing felt.

“I didn’t hit as many good as good shots as I would have liked around the turn, so that cost me a little bit – put me back. But to finish the way I did, was great.

“The par saves on 11 and 12 were huge. They were really, really important, and they felt really good, as well, because it’s something I’ve been working on, my short game.

“Obviously everyone is always working on something,” Fitzpatrick added, “but just to see it pay off today, particularly under the pressure was good.

“To put myself one in front going into tomorrow gives me a little bit of help, but yeah, I’m just looking forward and ready to go already.”

Fitzpatrick has finished runner-up three times so far this season and he is seeking a sixth European Tour title to extend his winning run to five consecutive seasons in the fifth event of the European Tour’s 2019 Rolex Series.

Fitzpatrick’s career has never looked back since winning the Selborne Salver as an England junior international at Blackmoor GC, in East Hampshire, in 2012.

His nearest rival is American Kurt Kitayama, a two-time winner already in 2019, who moved serenely through the field with a bogey-free round of 65 to sit one shot back on 12-under.

Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre went one shot better with a seven-under 64 as he moved into contention for another shot at a maiden European Tour title, just two years since making his Walker Cup debut in Los Angeles.

The Challenge Tour graduate has impressed in his rookie season on the European Tour, also finishing runner-up on three occasions so far.

MacIntyre played alongside Hampshire’s Scott Gregory, and Jack-Singh-Brar in the Walker Cup in Californian, and all three have ended up on the European Tour – just three years after Gregory beat the Scott in the Amateur Championship final, at Royal Porthcawl.

MacIntyre said: “That round is up there. I seem to be getting in positions and just letting it fall away.

But me and Greg have been talking about just staying in the present. Just do what we do, and today, we done that. Managed to get a good result.

“When I get too aggressive, it actually affects me. So it’s just about playing to my strengths and the course kind of suits the driver.

“So we’re just going at it this week and it seems to be working,” added the Oban golfer.

“My goal now is just trying to get my mind off trying to win. It’s about trying to get as many world ranking points as I can to try to end the season as high as possible.

“Everybody knows why they want to end the season high, but the win is irrelevant of what I’m trying to achieve.

“I’ve just got to go and play my game, and if the win comes, well, I’m sure I’ll celebrate it.”

There is no doubt though that MacIntyre desparately wants to emulate Kitayama, who came through the European Tour Qualifying School nearly a year ago, finishing third at Lumine, in Spain.

Kitayama said: “It was a good day. I missed a few greens but was able to get up-and-down and made some good putts. Playing bogey-free is always good, especially out here.

“I feel like I’ve been in pretty good control of my irons. My driver was better. Just trying to keep it in play, really, and give myself a look at the green and take advantage of those.

“This is a big event. Winning at any level, even smaller events, you still have to draw back on those memories and those situations, because the feeling is still going to be similar.

“Winning’s winning. So just go out and do the same tomorrow,” added the winner of the Mauritius and Oman Opens in 2019.

MacIntyre will start the final round two shots adrift on 11-under.

Hertfordshire’s Matt Wallace and Austrian Bernd Wiesberger share fourth place on 10-under par after both players carded rounds of 67.

Wiesberger and Kitayama are both going for their third win of the season – with Wiesberger in position to make it two Rolex Series victories in just three months.

And if the Austrian should come out on top, the first prize of €1million will raise his game yet another level in his bid to make up for lost time through last year’s injury, and his pursuit of a place in Europe’s 2020 Ryder Cup team.

Follow live scoring in Rome here.

Round three s

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Finland’s Tapio Pulkkanen leads the Italian Open at Rome’s Olgiata Golf Club after a blistering 64 in the first round. Picture by GETTY IMAGES

FINLAND’S Tapio Pulkkanen fired a bogey-free 64 to take a one-shot lead after the opening round of the Italian Open with World No. 5 Justin Rose among those in contention in Rome.

Pulkkanen is currently in 102^nd position on the Race to Dubai with only one top 10 finish so far this season – eighth place in the Trophée Hassan II.

But he posted the lowest opening round of his European Tour career to head a strong leaderboard on seven under par round at Olgiata Golf Club, which is hosting the fifth event in the European Tour’s Rolex Series.

Pulkkanen said: “I’m really happy with the score. My putter was really hot, and I didn’t make any bogeys, so it was good.

“I made a lot of long putts. I was just actually trying to lag it close, and made a lot of putts by doing that.

“I felt like the greens were really quick. Especially in the morning, first group. Monday, Tuesday, was not that quick, so I had to be really careful with the putting.

“I think my first year on the European Tour was a learning year. Second year has been more comfortable being here.

“I haven’t played that well in the Rolex tournaments, so this is kind of new situation, but it’s a long way to go and I feel good about my game.”

The 29-year-old carded five birdies on his front nine after starting on the 10th tee, and added two more on the way to sit one shot clear of American-based Slovakian Rory Sabbatini, who birdied his final hole for a round of 65.

Sabbatini, who was born in South African before moving to the States where he studied at the University of Arizona, said: “Obviously it’s nice to be here playing in Italy.

“I’ve got some roots here in Italy. It’s good to be here, and it’s always a nice change of venue, and see some new courses,” said the six-time PGA Tour winner.

“I think just got to continue to try and do what I did today. Keep the ball in play. This is a golf course that I think accuracy is of prime importance out here.

“You know, putting it in play, and then continue to hit greens and I think if you get it on the greens in regulation, minimize the stress, and we’ll see what happens,” added Sabbatini, whose last win came in the 2011 Honda Open, at Florida’s PGA National.

Olympic Champion Rose, who is chasing his third Rolex Series title, is in a group of five players one shot further back on five-under par after posting five birdies in his final eight holes.

The Hampshire-raised ace had mixed two birdies and two bogeys on the front nine in his bid to add the Italian Open to his other Rolex victories in the Turkish Airlines Open in 2017 and 2018.

Rose said: “Probably my putting is what I was happiest with today. I really rolled it beautifully from 10, 12, 15-feet, capitalised a lot on my opportunities.

“It felt like it was one of those days where I walked off the golf course going, ‘I made the most of that round for sure’.”

Rose shares third place with Dutchman Joost Luiten, American Kurt Kitayama, Austrian Rolex Series winner Bernd Wiesberger, who claimed the Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open in July, and India’s Shubhankar Sharma, who birdied the 16^th and eagled the 17^th in his 66.

Sharma said: “I hit a lot of good putts before that and they weren’t falling, so it was kind of getting easier to make a few birdies coming in.

“That tee shot on the 16th was really good, a great four-iron to about seven, eight feet, and I made that putt.

“And 17, again, a good drive and a good four-iron to the middle of the green and that putt obviously was a bonus.

“It was like a 40-footer that I made, so pretty happy,” added Sharma, who won twice on the European Tour in four months at the start of the 2018 season, with victories in the Joburg Open and Malaysia’s Maybank Championship.

Italian Francesco Molinari, the 2018 Open Champion and two-time Italian Open champion, opened with a level-par round of 71, some seven shots behind Pulkkanen.

•For live scoring in round two click here.

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Francesco Molinari played in the Italian Open at Rome’s Olgiata Golf, as an amateur in 2002. Picture by GETTY IMAGES

FRANCESCO Molinari and the Italian Open return to Olgiata Golf Club for the first time in 17 years this week – and it is safe to say a lot has changed for both player and event since 2002.

Italy’s national open is now part of the prestigious Rolex Series, bringing a prize fund of $7million and a world-class field to the outskirts of the Italian capital Rome.

The field includes Hampshire’s World No. 5 Justin Rose, Open Champion Shane Lowry, Surrey’s Ryder Cup star Paul Casey and BMW PGA champion Danny Willett, from Yorkshire.

When Ian Poulter lifted the trophy in 2002 at Olgiata, Molinari was still an amateur, making his first European Tour cut five days short of his 20th birthday.

The older Molinari brother – Edoardo was crowned US Amateur Champion in 2005 – went on to win his home open in 2006 for a first European Tour victory.

A Ryder Cup debut and World Golf Championships victory would come in 2010, as well as a second Italian Open title in 2016, but even those successes could not prepare him for the glorious summer of 2018.

A first Rolex Series victory at the BMW PGA Championship and a Major triumph at The Open, at Carnoustie, helped him win the Race to Dubai, while he also became the first European to take five points from five as the Ryder Cup was regained in Paris – thanks to the famous Mollywood partnership with Tommy Fleetwood.

Molinari said: “I think it sums up the journey that I’ve had in golf, how lucky I’ve been and how hard I’ve worked as well.

“I was here on this course 17 years ago as an amateur making the cut and I think finishing 25th or something like that and starting to think, maybe I could make a living doing this.

“Fast forward 17 years and obviously things have gone far better than expected at the time.

“I think the first win on Tour, at least for me, I never knew it was coming. I think no one really expected me to win at the beginning of the week, and you can almost feel the expectations growing through the week.

“Just an amazing relief I think to the 18th green and seeing all the people there celebrating, lots of friends and family. I couldn’t have asked for a better first win on Tour.”

Rose, runner-up to Molinari at Carnoustie, last played the Italian Open in 2002 – when he lent close friend Ian Poulter a putter that helped him win hs second Italian Open after his breakthrough win in 2000, in Sardinia.

Rose – a member at Fleet’s North Hants Golf Club where he made his name as an amateur – has two Rolex Series titles at the Turkish Airlines Open to his name.

A third victory in Rome could provide a platform for a tilt at Race to Dubai glory.

Rose, who finished fourth in the 1998 Open as an amateur, said: “They are a highlight on my calendar in terms of when I’m preparing my schedule.

“I look at all the important tournaments around the world and try to make sure I’m ready and prepared for them. Rolex Series are in that category.

“The next month for me is really, really important and I feel like I’m in a position where I have to win probably two or three events between now and Dubai to challenge the leaders – but it’s possible.”

“I enjoy the off-course as much as the on-course and I’m going to stay for a couple of days in Rome after the tournament.

“Very rarely would I make that time at a tournament to stay after, in fact, never, really. So it just speaks of Rome and speaks of Italy that you try to make that time to really enjoy the country.”

Willett finished third on his Italian Open debut in 2015 and his second placed result in 2016 was his best finish between his Masters Tournament victory and his triumph at the 2018 DP World Tour Championship, Dubai.

Willett still on a high after his BMW PGA win at Wentworth last month said: “They’ve given it another tier within the tournaments.

“You’ve got your Majors and your World Golf Championships and there’s always been amazing events that the European Tour have put on and this just separates it a bit more.”

“I’ve always had pretty good crowd interaction out here. I’ve had some pretty good groups, I’ve played with Frankie (Molinari) a lot out here and gone close a couple of times at Monza.

“All the fans here love their golf and they’re really passionate about sport and we get to play some pretty cool venues so hopefully we can have more of the same. It’s a pretty cool place.”

•For live scoring when the first round gets under way on Thursday click here.

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Ian Poulter won the 2002 Italian Open – the last time Olgiata Golf Club hosted the event – after borrowing Justin Rose’s putter. Picture by GETTY IMAGES

IAN Poulter returns to the venue where he claimed his second Italian Open title 17 years ago hoping that another victory in the Rolex Series event can spark a late push in the Race to Dubai.

The Ryder Cup legend won his maiden European Tour title in the Italian Open when it was played in Sardinia in 2000.

And he triumphed again two years later at Olgiata Golf Club – the last time the tournament was played at this week’s venue, which is on the outskirts of Rome.

On that occasion, he borrowed a putter from Justin Rose for the week and went on to finish two shots clear of Scotland’s Paul Lawrie.

Poulter, who is attached to Woburn, said: “It was a long time ago – 17 years but it is always great to come back to a venue you’ve won at.

“It was the last time it was here too so hopefully it will be another great week to enjoy the Italian Open. I have two so it would be lovely to make it three.

“I remember I did ask Justin for a putter. He had a couple of spares and mine was misbehaving at the time.

“I asked him and he gave me one. I still have it in the office. I forgot – I should have brought it to see if I can throw it back in – but funny little things happen at certain times in events.

“It’s been a good year. It’s definitely been one to sit back, reflect and enjoy,” added the Ryder Cup hero, dubbed “The Postman˘” as he always delivered his points.

Poulter, who goes into the week in 15th position on the Race to Dubai, is now targeting a third Italian Open victory as he seeks a strong end to a 2019 season following a consistent campaign that has already yielded five top 10 finishes on the European Tour – alongside a share of 12th at the Masters Tournament.

“I’ve only missed three cuts so far this year. All three in Majors. The other one I had chance to win.

“Consistency has been key. I’ve played pretty well in a lot of tournaments,” added Poulter, whose first job in the game was working in the pro shop at Leighton Buzzard Golf Club, in Bedfordshire, having grown up in Hemel Hempstead.

“I’ve not finished many off, which I would like to have done. If I can have a nice run now – I’m playing six out of seven weeks in a row.

“So I’m going to play lot of golf coming up and seeing if I can get on a bit of a run and see if I can have a go at the Race to Dubai and then enjoy Christmas with the kids.”

The Englishman is one of six members of Europe’s victorious 2018 Ryder Cup Team in the field for the fifth Rolex Series event of 2019.

He is joined by compatriots Rose, Paul Casey and Tyrrell Hatton, Sweden’s Alex Noren and home favourite Francesco Molinari, along with winning captain Thomas Bjørn and 2020 captain Padraig Harrington, in the country which will host the 2022 Ryder Cup.

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