Italian Open (golf)

Italian Open
Tournament information
LocationRavenna, Italy
Established1925
Course(s)Adriatic Golf Club Cervia
Par71
Length6,989 yards (6,391 m)
Tour(s)European Tour
FormatStroke play
Prize fund3,250,000
Month playedJune
Tournament record score
Aggregate262 Percy Alliss (1935)
262 Francesco Molinari (2016)
262 Thorbjørn Olesen (2018)
To par−25 Hennie Otto (2008)
Current champion
Germany Marcel Siem
Location map
Adriatic GC Cervia is located in Italy
Adriatic GC Cervia
Adriatic GC Cervia
Location in Italy
Adriatic GC Cervia is located in Emilia-Romagna
Adriatic GC Cervia
Adriatic GC Cervia
Location in Emilia-Romagna

The Italian Open (Italian: Open d'Italia) is the men's national open golf championship of Italy. It was founded in 1925 and, except for 1933 and during World War II, was played annually until 1960. After an eleven-year hiatus, it returned in 1971 when it was one of five tournaments in Continental Europe that were included on the British PGA Order of Merit circuit.[1] The following year of that circuit has since been recognised as the first official season of the European Tour, and the Italian Open is one of few tournaments that have featured on the schedule every year. The 2018 event was the 75th edition of the championship.

In 2017 the European Tour created the Rolex Series, a group of events with higher prize money, with the Italian Open being one of the designated events with total prize money increased to US$7 million, more than double that of the previous year.[2][3] In 2020 the tournament was not part of the Rolex Series, having been rescheduled with much lower prize money due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.[4]

  1. ^ "Extra £32,000 at stake for Britons". The Times. 7 December 1971. p. 10. Retrieved 24 February 2020 – via The Times Digital Archive.
  2. ^ "European Tour announces Rolex Series, overhaul of top events". ESPN. Associated Press. 15 November 2016.
  3. ^ "European Tour launches the Rolex Series". PGA European Tour. 15 November 2016.
  4. ^ "Two Rolex Series events cancelled; three new events on European Tour". Sky Sports. 28 August 2020. Retrieved 28 August 2020.