Fantastico …… Champion Italian golfer Matteo Manassero brilliantly reminded the golf world of his talent in posting a sensational career-low 61 on day two of the co-sanctioned Jonsson Workwear Open on the outskirts of Joburg.
Manassero, 30, grabbed two eagles and seven birdies in his 11-under-par performance on the host Glendower GC.
It is just the 10th main Tour event for the affable Italian since regaining his DPWT card late last year in Spain, thus ending a five-year absence from the Tour.
Manny, as has long-been affectionately known, commenced his round from the 10th at four-under but soon made his presence felt in the joint DP World Tour and Sunshine Tour hosted event starting birdie, eagle and birdie.
The current World No. 381st ranked player then birdied 15 and 16 before eagling the par-5 17th for a second day running to move to eight-under after just eight holes and have everyone on a ’59 watch’ given he still had 10 holes to play.
Manny then birdied the second, fourth and sixth holes on the card, and as he had done a day earlier, reaching 11-under and needing two birdies in the closing three to join England’s Ollie Fisher as the only DP World Tour player ever to shoot a 59.
Though it was not to be, he was understandably delighted with his score and taking a two-shot clubhouse lead at 15-under to a well-earned luncheon break.
“I was at one point as well to be fair,” Manassero said when told that the media were on ’59 watch’.
“I never even came close to touching 11-under so it’s been the best round I’ve had in my life, I guess. I couldn’t be happier.
“Apart from that sour taste of that little putt at eight (His 17th), the rest has been has been amazing.
“The greens being soft, even if you have kind of a longer club, if you hit a good shot, the ball sticks close to the hole you know, so you can get a lot of birdie chances or eagle chances as well. It’s a target golf course and if you put yourself in position and hit some good irons then you know scoring is really, really possible and I think a lot of guys will shoot under par today.
“So, that’s how the course is playing and we’ll see for the weekend.”
It has been well over 10-years since the Italian golfing stallion last tasted success and that was in July 1993 in capturing the Italian Challenge on the secondary Challenge Tour.
Manassero turned pro on 3 May 2010, making his professional debut at the BMW Italian Open. His first win came on 24 October 2010 at the Castelló Masters Costa Azahar in Valencia, Spain, where he triumphed by four strokes over Ignacio Garrido. The victory made him the youngest-ever winner on the European Tour, surpassing the record set by Danny Lee at the 2009 Johnnie Walker Classic.
In 2011 Manassero secured his second European Tour win at the Maybank Malaysian Open on 17 April 2011 at the age of 17 years and 363 days, making him first and second on the list of youngest European Tour winners.
Manny then set the golf world alight in 2013, when just 18-years of age he contested the Tour’s flagship BMW PGA Championship with a birdie at the fourth extra hole of a playoff against Simon Khan and Marc Warren, becoming the youngest-ever winner of that tournament as well.
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