Tom McKibbin produced a steady opening round and shot a three-under 68 on day one of the Open d’Italia, but it was home favourite Edoardo Molinari who made all the headlines with a record-breaking performance.
The Holywood man was making his first DP World Tour start since missing the cut at the Turkish Airlines Open in early May, and after a shaky start and a bogey on the 11th – his second – he proceeded to birdie four of the remaining 16 to card a 68 that leaves him tied for 22nd after day one.
McKibbin was in the early wave, but the real fireworks happened in the afternoon as Molinari, whose last DP World Tour win came in 2017 after a seven-year winless streak prior, wowed the home crowds with a vintage performance.
Proudly playing his home course, he took advantage of his countless rounds at Circolo Golf Torino, perfectly navigating the fairways and greens to deliver his lowest performance in nearly four years.
The 45-year-old came out firing in Turin, opening his round with three birdies in as many holes, before a pair of bogeys threatened to halt the momentum. He managed to regroup, picking up three shots around the turn and later finishing with four birdies in his final five holes to reach eight under par.
The hometown hero’s efforts saw him break the previous course record of 64, set by Yuta Ikeda in 2006, and take pole position of a $40,000 prize pot, thanks to Nexo – should no player shoot lower this week, Molinari will be awarded at the conclusion of play on Sunday.
“Today I had a great day on the greens but that’s not a big surprise,” Molinari said. “I was very pleased with the way I hit it off the tee. There’s some tight tee shots where I pretty much always hit the fairway today. Then I hit some really good tee shots down 15, 17, 18, it was quite far down for a guy like me, old and with a lot of stitches. I think the driving today made a made a big difference.
“It was great. I had my family, my wife, my kids, my physio who I spent the last six months with pretty much every day. He did an amazing job together with everyone else. It was a very pleasing day.”
Joaquín Niemann was the next best on Thursday, carding a 64 to finish in outright second. The Chilean opened his campaign with three birdies in five holes, adding another two at the eighth and ninth to go out in 31.
The 27-year-old continued to capitalise on his way home, with birdies at the 14th, 15th and 18th only offset by a bogey at the 16th, to finish one shot off the lead.
Another home favourite in Guido Migliozzi leads a group of five at six under par, the Italian having worked his way through a start that included three birdies and two bogeys in his opening five holes.
The four-time DP World Tour winner managed to pick up two shots after the turn – coming at the first and second hole, due to a tenth-tee start – before consecutive birdies in his final three holes saw him card a total of 65.
Frenchman Tom Vaillant, the first off the tee, made the most of early conditions, recording three birdies across both his front and back nine to set the initial target.
He was later joined by Spanish duo Nacho Elvira and Rocco Repetto Taylor, and New Zealand’s Kazuma Kobori, to round out those two shots back and in a share for third.
Five Spaniards in Pablo Larrazábal, Eugenio Chacarra, Ángel Ayora, Ángel Hidalgo and Jorge Campillo sit at five under, alongside Finland’s Oliver Lindell, Sweden’s Joakim Lagergren and France’s Jeong weon Ko.
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