Matteo Manassero Biography

Born: April 19, 1993
Place of birth: Negrar, Verona, Italy

European Tour: 3
(2010 Castello Masters, 2011 Malaysian Open, 2012 Singapore Open)

Amateur - 1
British Amateur: 2009

Italian golfer Matteo Manassero spent his early teens working under the tutelage of Italian national golf coach Alberto Binaghi. By his mid-teens, Manassero was ready to appear on the international stage.

Manassero first felt the spotlight about a month after turning 16 when he played in the BMW Italian Open on the European Tour as an amateur. He finished inside the Top 20. Over the next few months, Manassero cemented his place as one of the brightest up-and-comers in golf:

• In June 2009, Manassero won the British Amateur championship, the first Italian to do so, and the youngest (by nearly two years) to do so.
• In July 2009, at 16 years and 3 months, he finished tied for 13th in the British Open. He was the youngest to play a British Open in around 140 years, and the youngest-ever low amateur.
• In December 2009, Manassero ascended to No. 1 in the World Amateur Rankings maintained by the R&A.
• In April 2010, Manassero - about a week shy of turning 17 - became the youngest-ever to make the cut at The Masters.

In October of 2009, Manassero was included in small delegation of golfers who addressed the International Olympic Committee, urging the IOC to accept golf as an Olympic sport.

On May 3, 2010, Mannassero turned pro, with his pro debut coming at the 2010 BMW Italian Open. He was 17 years and 17 days old when he teed off, the second-youngest golfer ever to join the European Tour.

By the end of the year, he had secured his European Tour card for 2011 and posted his first victory. Win No. 1 as a pro nearly came on the Challenge Tour in August, 2010, but Manassero wound up second at the Rolex Trophy. He later finished third in the European Masters, earning enough money to secure full playing privileges for 2011. And Manassero broke through for Win No. 1 at the European Tour Castello Masters in Spain in October, 2010. He was 17 years, 188 days old at the time, making him the youngest-ever European Tour winner.

Near the end of the 2012 season, Manassero added win No. 3 on the European Tour at the Barclays Singapore Open, becoming the first golfer with three wins on that tour prior to turning 20 years old.