Make or break week in Rome

BY Bruce Young | European PGA Tour | 2002 Italian Open | Preview | 30 Oct 2002

With just the one full field event left prior to next week’s Volvo Masters, the Italian Open, like last week’s Buick Challenge in the US, offers the opportunity for players to advance to the event in Spain, or for some, the chance to sneak inside the top one hundred and fifteen and retain playing privileges for next season. Another factor this week will be the continuing saga of the race for Order of Merit honours.

Retief Goosen currently leads the money list but he will be in Atlanta this week at the USPGA Tour Championship as one of the top thirty on that money list where he is in ninth place.

Padraig Harrington had a golden opportunity last week in Madrid to take the lead in the Volvo Order of Merit only to produce an ordinary last round for seventh. Harrington is here this week and wherever he finishes, the race for the money title will go down to the wire in Spain. He trails Goosen by 54,000 euros and even a win here and the accompanying 183,000 euros, will not give him the break on Goosen he needs to feel comfortable. Next week’s first prize is of order 550,000 euros.

Players looking to get inside the top sixty six in order to gain a start next week include Peter Fowler currently 63rd, Nick Ohern 75th and Lee Westwood 76th.

Australasians who need to produce something special this week to finish inside the all important top one hundred and fifteen on the money list for full playing privileges next year are Lucas Parsons 130th, Brett Rumford 132nd, Scott Gardiner 134th and Stephen Scahill 135th.

This year’s event is in Rome after having been played in Sardinia last year when won by the Frenchman Gregory Havret.