Abu Dhabi: Matteo Manassero’s stocks are certainly on the rise. Ever since the 20-year-old became the youngest player to win on the European Tour in 2010, the Italian has won a tournament every single year since then with his biggest coming this year at the BMW PGA Championship. The Abu Dhabi Global Golf ambassador is now busy preparing for the new season and he has a personal reason for putting in a great show at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship from January 16-19.
“I am certain that we are in for another fantastic event in 2014 and that all of the players participating in the tournament will help to showcase the delights of Abu Dhabi to the world of golf,” he told XPRESS in an exclusive interview.
“The weather is always great in January and the setting around the course is remarkable so I am sure that the players and fans alike will have a great time. On a personal level, I would love to perform well to thank everyone at the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority for their support over the years since giving me the opportunity to compete in the tournament for the first time in 2010.”
Manassero is understandably optimistic about his chances in Abu Dhabi following his win at Wentworth.
“It was an amazing feeling to win at Wentworth because it was a really strong field and I felt honoured to join some of the famous names on that trophy such as my idol Seve Ballesteros. When I got my European Tour card four years ago I don’t think I could have imagined that I would win a title every year but now that I am on that run, I would like to keep it going. I have played in the last four Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championships and managed to finish 6th in 2012, hopefully I can go a few places better than that this year.
The win at Wentworth catapulted Manassero into the top-30, something he considers a significant achievement.
“Moving into the top-30 when I won the BMW PGA championship at Wentworth was a big step in my career and enabled me to play in all of the biggest events around the world. Every year since turning pro I have managed to improve my ranking or finish higher on the race to Dubai than the previous year so hopefully this year I can edge my way further up the rankings and maybe finish in the top ten on the Race to Dubai, as I finished a career best 11th this year.
The Italian was the youngest player ever to make the cut at the Masters Tournament in 2010 and while he has played all four for the first time this year, he missed three of the four cuts, including the Masters Tournament.
“Missing the cut in any tournament is frustrating but I learnt a lot from this year’s Majors and all of the other big events in 2013. This year was the first time that I qualified to play in all four Majors which was an amazing experience. I am obviously keen to change the statistics and I am confident that I will as I think I now know how to prepare better for the big tournaments where the conditions are always tricky and you are punished if you are not hitting it perfectly or your putting is slightly off,” he said.
Besides, doing well in the Majors, making the Ryder Cup team is also high on Manassero’s agenda and he hopes his stint in Abu Dhabi will help him there.
“I would love to be part of Paul McGinley’s team at Gleneagles next year, and I will put every effort in to try and make it happen. The European Tour is so competitive though and everyone knows that there are so many guys still in with a chance of qualifying, so it won’t be easy. I just need to keep playing my own game week-in-week-out and if I am in the qualification spots at the end of the campaign, I will be happy - a good week in Abu Dhabi would certainly help! I really enjoy playing match play and playing in the last two Seve trophies has given me a taste of what it might be like to play in the Ryder Cup and some invaluable experience of playing golf over the same format,” he said.
That would be representing Europe, but how would it be like representing his country at the Olympics?
“I always love representing my country and making the team that goes to Rio would be amazing, and it would mean so much if I was lucky enough to win a medal. Golf hasn’t been part of the Olympics for such a long time and with this being the first in over a hundred years, there is certainly some history to be made. I have represented my country on a number of occasions in the World Cup of golf with my good friend, Francesco Molinari, as well as playing in several amateur competitions for Italy so to play in something as prestigious as the Olympics would be incredible,” he said.
