Eagling that par-5 to spur the victory is significant for the young Italian phenom, because the only "issue" with his game right now is length. Manassero is not long; in fact, he's short off the tee. Following the Malaysian Open, Manassero stands 178th on the European Tour driving distance ranking, with an average of 273.2 yards, more than 40 yards behind the leader. (He is sixth in driving accuracy, hitting 70.4-percent of fairways.)
The May 2011 issue of Golf Digest included a feature about Manassero in which his lack of punch off the tee was discussed. His teacher is in no hurry to start addressing it, arguing that, hey, he's 17 years old - let Matteo mature physically and then let's see where he's at. Great approach. With a talent this huge, the first rule should always be, "First, do no harm."
Clearly, the issue of driver length isn't holding Manassero back too much right now; he has two wins on the European Tour and he's not yet 18!
When Manassero won the 2010 Castello Masters, he established a new Euro Tour record for youngest-ever winner. He was 17 years, 188 days old at that time - more than a year younger than the previous recordholder. His victory at the 2011 Malaysian Open would also have broken that previous record; now it means Manassero is Nos. 1 and 2 on the list of youngest European Tour winners.
More about Matteo Manassero
Matteo Manassero Celebrates 18th Birthday Early with a Win originally appeared on About.com Golf on Sunday, April 17th, 2011 at 09:41:46.
Comments