43:I[29208,["/_next/static/chunks/0tuv9_t4tcmpd.js","/_next/static/chunks/1yt446igj3lq7.js","/_next/static/chunks/356hjhwwhmsuf.js","/_next/static/chunks/2r-_tyrcnf7v8.js","/_next/static/chunks/0lpwqoi233qvk.js","/_next/static/chunks/3poyse7roc0fs.js","/_next/static/chunks/1-khaq6h6j2wy.js","/_next/static/chunks/2sfb3o3xvfqdd.js","/_next/static/chunks/3h-vnkfj9r7jx.js","/_next/static/chunks/15xqj1mmjxy46.js","/_next/static/chunks/41u_8ogfbuc3t.js","/_next/static/chunks/0x_ky3o94upvj.js"],"default"] 3b:T125b,

Matteo Manassero quit golf five years ago at the age of 26, tormented by a sport which gave him so many highs but was no longer making him feel happy.

On Sunday, he could punch a ticket to play across the Atlantic on the lucrative PGA Tour and be back in the big time, where so many think his game belongs.

The 31-year-old Italian will look to cap his career revival this week by becoming one of 10 players from the European tour to be eligible to claim dual membership and a PGA Tour card for the 2025 season.

The season-ending World Tour Championship starts on Thursday in Dubai and only an unlikely turn of events will deny Rory McIlroy from being crowned as the European tour’s best player for a sixth time, leaving him two off Colin Montgomerie’s record haul.

There will be more suspense elsewhere, though, notably in that race for those PGA Tour cards — a structural tweak created in 2022 in the wake of the so-called strategic alliance between the European tour and PGA Tour in the face of mounting pressure from the breakaway LIV Golf series.

The presence of Manassero in the 10-man list, as it stands, only elevates the interest levels.

Blessed with a smooth swing and a deft touch, Manassero was a golfing prodigy, winning the British Amateur in 2009, the silver medal at the British Open for low amateur the same year, and also becoming No. 1 amateur in the world.

By 2013, he’d won four events on the European tour — including the BMW PGA Championship, the flagship event on the tour, to move into the world's top 25.

Then came the career dip, which plunged him into self-doubt and ultimately retirement — albeit for only a few months while he assessed where to go with his life. He eventually decided to give golf another go, beginning his rebuild on the lowly Nordic Golf League and the Alps Tour, which is on the third tier of European golf.

His talent shone through and last year he sealed a return to the European tour, with a win at the Jonsson Workwear Open in March being universally celebrated in the golf fraternity.

That helped to put him in a strong position to claim the end-of-season bonus of a PGA Tour card, and he headed to Dubai in fifth place among non-exempt players, behind Thriston Lawrence, Rasmus Hojgaard, Paul Waring — the winner in Abu Dhabi last week — and Niklas Norgaard. Jesper Svensson, Thorbjørn Olesen, Rikuya Hoshino, Sebastian Söderberg and Jordan Smith make up the list, though the tour says any non-exempt player in the 50-man field can, statistically, break into the top 10.

Robert MacIntyre is living proof of how life-changing that can be. He was one of the 10 to claim a PGA Tour card after last year’s World Tour Championship and he has blossomed, winning two big PGA events — the Canadian Open and the Scottish Open — and rising to a career-high 15th in the world in August. He is No. 16.

“Career-changing, 100%,” MacIntyre said on Tuesday. “I’ve now got to the top level of professional golf, the top 25% of professional golfers. You can then pick your schedule and you’re in all the major events and you’re in all the top events you can play in and you can pick and choose, and that’s where you want to be.

“I think,” MacIntyre added, “the majority of golfers out here have got that dream, as well.”

If Hojgaard secures his PGA Tour card, he will join his twin brother Nicolai in the United States.

McIlroy on brink

Lawrence leads that list of PGA Tour hopefuls but has other things on his mind.

The South African is the only player who can prevent McIlroy from winning the Race to Dubai title — formerly the Order of Merit — and join the late Seve Ballesteros on six.

Lawrence has to win — nothing less is good enough — and then needs McIlroy to finish tied for 11th or lower.

“Rory has been an idol for me since growing up as a youngster,” the 27-year-old Lawrence said, “and being able to clinch it this week would be the cherry on the cake for myself.”

The smart money, however, is on McIlroy, who has shown extraordinary consistency in collecting a win — at the Dubai Desert Classic in January — as well as four runner-up finishes and three more top fives in his 12 European tour events this season.

“Rory is held to a higher standard than pretty much everybody else in the world of golf,” Tommy Fleetwood said. “But I think he’s shown amazing golf again this year, and he’s shown why he’s one of the best to ever do it.”

___

AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf

3c:T125b,

Matteo Manassero quit golf five years ago at the age of 26, tormented by a sport which gave him so many highs but was no longer making him feel happy.

On Sunday, he could punch a ticket to play across the Atlantic on the lucrative PGA Tour and be back in the big time, where so many think his game belongs.

The presence of Manassero in the 10-man list, as it stands, only elevates the interest levels.

By 2013, he’d won four events on the European tour — including the BMW PGA Championship, the flagship event on the tour, to move into the world's top 25.

His talent shone through and last year he sealed a return to the European tour, with a win at the Jonsson Workwear Open in March being universally celebrated in the golf fraternity.

“I think,” MacIntyre added, “the majority of golfers out here have got that dream, as well.”

If Hojgaard secures his PGA Tour card, he will join his twin brother Nicolai in the United States.

McIlroy on brink

Lawrence leads that list of PGA Tour hopefuls but has other things on his mind.

The South African is the only player who can prevent McIlroy from winning the Race to Dubai title — formerly the Order of Merit — and join the late Seve Ballesteros on six.

Lawrence has to win — nothing less is good enough — and then needs McIlroy to finish tied for 11th or lower.

“Rory has been an idol for me since growing up as a youngster,” the 27-year-old Lawrence said, “and being able to clinch it this week would be the cherry on the cake for myself.”

___

AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf

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VIRGINIA WATER, England (AP) — Eleven years after winning the title as a 20-year-old prodigy, Matteo Manassero moved into position to capture the prestigious BMW PGA Championship again on Saturday.

Manassero shot 9-under 63 to take a three-stroke lead after the third round.

Victory would cap a career revival for Manassero, who as a teenager was widely expected to become a golfing superstar. His game went into freefall, dropping the Italian onto the third-tier Alps Tour and to a world ranking of 1,705.

Back on the European tour this year, he won in South Africa in March and is in sight of a victory over a stacked field — containing Rory McIlroy — at the tour’s flagship event.

“Thinking of the difficult years, to be standing here right now in the lead — it feels amazing,” Manassero said. “My perspective has changed. I'm going to go out and enjoy tomorrow.”

Manassero, now ranked No. 101, pumped his fist after curling in a 12-foot putt at the last to seal a birdie-birdie-birdie finish and a back nine of 31 on the storied West Course that was drenched in heavy rain for much of the round. He made seven birdies and an eagle 3 at No. 4, and was 18 under for the tournament.

“I have to be honest, one of the best rounds I’ve ever played,” Manassero said.

McIlroy shot 66 after getting up and down for par at No. 18 after hitting into water off his second shot. The No. 3-ranked Northern Irishman, who won the event in 2014, was tied for second place with 2021 champion Billy Horschel, whose round of 65 included a run of seven straight birdies — featuring holed putts totaling 130 feet — from No. 8.

“The hole looked like the size of the Atlantic Ocean,” Horschel said.

Overnight leader Matthew Baldwin, who is ranked No. 363 and was dropping off packages for Amazon two years ago, shot 71 and was alone in fourth place after a round that began in pouring rain — necessitating preferred lies — and finished under a sunny sky outside London.

McIlroy, who also has two runner-up finishes at Wentworth, came from seven shots back at the start of the final round to win a decade ago and said catching Manassero might be just as difficult on Sunday.

“It’s good to see him back playing the golf that he is and where he’s supposed to be,” McIlroy said of Manassero, "so it’s going to be an exciting day.

“But if I get off to a fast start, it’s game on.”

Manassero would be a popular winner given the journey he has been on.

In 2009, he won the British Amateur, the silver medal at the British Open for low amateur and became No. 1 amateur in the world.

Within four years, he'd won four events on the European tour, capped by winning at the BMW PGA Championship to move into the top 25 in the world. Six years later, he briefly stepped away from a game he no longer loved, but is now back in the big time.

A victory would put him on track to qualify for next year's Ryder Cup and to claim one of the 10 PGA Tour cards available each year from the European tour.

“I know what I’m doing much more,” Manassero said. “It’s not easy to compete at such a high level in tough conditions. It’s not like the ideal comfort zone but that’s what we work for. That’s what we try and achieve. Just happy where I am.”

___

AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf

___

AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf

3e:Tdcd,

VIRGINIA WATER, England (AP) — Eleven years after winning the title as a 20-year-old prodigy, Matteo Manassero moved into position to capture the prestigious BMW PGA Championship again on Saturday.

Manassero shot 9-under 63 to take a three-stroke lead after the third round.

Back on the European tour this year, he won in South Africa in March and is in sight of a victory over a stacked field — containing Rory McIlroy — at the tour’s flagship event.

“Thinking of the difficult years, to be standing here right now in the lead — it feels amazing,” Manassero said. “My perspective has changed. I'm going to go out and enjoy tomorrow.”

“I have to be honest, one of the best rounds I’ve ever played,” Manassero said.

“The hole looked like the size of the Atlantic Ocean,” Horschel said.

“It’s good to see him back playing the golf that he is and where he’s supposed to be,” McIlroy said of Manassero, "so it’s going to be an exciting day.

“But if I get off to a fast start, it’s game on.”

Manassero would be a popular winner given the journey he has been on.

In 2009, he won the British Amateur, the silver medal at the British Open for low amateur and became No. 1 amateur in the world.

A victory would put him on track to qualify for next year's Ryder Cup and to claim one of the 10 PGA Tour cards available each year from the European tour.

___

AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf

___

AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf

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NEWCASTLE, Northern Ireland (AP) — Matteo Manassero handled the brunt of the afternoon cold and wind and made two eagles on his way to a 5-under 66 for a one-shot lead in the Irish Open on Friday.

Home favorite Rory McIlroy caught a break in the weather in the morning and failed to capitalize as much as he would have liked. He started on the back nine at Royal County Down in moderate conditions, failed to birdie the par 5s and had a 70 to finish two shots behind.

Temperatures dropped severely in the afternoon and players were wearing hand warmers to cope with the cold. Manassero opened with an 8-foot eagle putt, and the Italian recorded another eagle with an iron to 2 feet on the par-5 12th.

It was a struggle coming in with the wind, and he twice escaped trouble to make par.

Manassero, who won this year in South Africa on the European tour, was at 6-under 136. He was one shot ahead of Todd Clements (71) and Laurie Canter (68). McIlroy was tied with Ewen Ferguson of Scotland (69) and Alejandro Del Rey of Spain (71).

Another shot behind was Daniel Brown, who was tied for the lead until getting caught in the thick grass and native areas at Royal County Down, taking a triple bogey on his final hole at the par-4 ninth and wiping out a good day of work. He wound up with a 1-under 70.

McIlroy, who grew up about 40 miles (60 kilometers) to the north in Holywood, was satisfied with his position going into the weekend, yet still disappointed he didn't do more considering the more favorable conditions for slightly more than half of his second round.

“I felt like the course was there a little bit for the taking this morning,” he said. “We started on the back nine, too. So we had the two par 5s and the drivable par 4s, so to only play the back nine in even par, I was a little disappointed.”

He hit into a pot bunker on the 12th and missed the fairway on the 18th, both times having to lay up on the par 5s. But he made the turn and hit 8-iron to 15 feet for eagle.

“I played pretty solid on the way in,” he said. “Felt like I left a couple of shots out there but, you know, still in a good position.”

Plus, it was better than his last Irish Open at Royal County Down in 2015, when he opened with an 80 and missed the cut.

“Much better than nine years ago when I was watching the third round on TV,” McIlroy said. “Happy to be here for the weekend and happy to give myself a chance.”

___

AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf

40:Ta6a,

NEWCASTLE, Northern Ireland (AP) — Matteo Manassero handled the brunt of the afternoon cold and wind and made two eagles on his way to a 5-under 66 for a one-shot lead in the Irish Open on Friday.

It was a struggle coming in with the wind, and he twice escaped trouble to make par.

He hit into a pot bunker on the 12th and missed the fairway on the 18th, both times having to lay up on the par 5s. But he made the turn and hit 8-iron to 15 feet for eagle.

“I played pretty solid on the way in,” he said. “Felt like I left a couple of shots out there but, you know, still in a good position.”

Plus, it was better than his last Irish Open at Royal County Down in 2015, when he opened with an 80 and missed the cut.

“Much better than nine years ago when I was watching the third round on TV,” McIlroy said. “Happy to be here for the weekend and happy to give myself a chance.”

___

AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf

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EDENVALE, South Africa (AP) — Matteo Manassero broke through with his first European tour win in nearly 11 years on Sunday, shooting 6-under 66 after a storm delay for a three-stroke victory at the Jonsson Workwear Open.

Once a prodigy in European golf, the now 30-year-old Italian picked up his fifth European tour win by making four birdies in his last four holes to finish at 26 under for the tournament in South Africa.

Thriston Lawrence (63), Shaun Norris (68) and Jordan Smith (68) ended in a tie for second.

Manassero became the European tour's youngest winner at the age of 17 years and 188 days in 2010 at the Castelló Masters Costa Azahar in Spain. He won four times in a three-year stretch to start his career, with one of the victories coming at the tour's flagship event — the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth.

"This is the best day of my life on a golf course for sure,” he said. “It’s been a crazy journey over the last couple of years. I knew that I was getting on the right track but then you never know.”

Manassero was leading by one shot on the 17th when storms prompted a delay of almost 2 1/2 hours in the final round at Glendower Golf Club.

“Even coming down the 18th with a good tee shot, you still have to do some work," he said. "Golf is a really difficult and tough game so I am just so incredibly happy to be here holding this (trophy) right now."

Manassero, currently ranked No. 381, had struggled since those first four victories and dropped off the European tour. He only regained his card at the end of last year after some time on the second-tier Challenge Tour.

Manassero shot a career-best 11-under 61 in Friday’s second round.

It was the third consecutive week for the European tour in Africa, and the second week of a co-sanctioned event with the Sunshine Tour.

The European tour will have five tournaments in Asia before starting the European portion of its schedule in late May.

___

AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf

42:T833,

Thriston Lawrence (63), Shaun Norris (68) and Jordan Smith (68) ended in a tie for second.

Manassero was leading by one shot on the 17th when storms prompted a delay of almost 2 1/2 hours in the final round at Glendower Golf Club.

Manassero shot a career-best 11-under 61 in Friday’s second round.

It was the third consecutive week for the European tour in Africa, and the second week of a co-sanctioned event with the Sunshine Tour.

The European tour will have five tournaments in Asia before starting the European portion of its schedule in late May.

___

AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf

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Matteo Manassero

Matteo Manassero

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