A course-record equalling final round at the Cazoo Open de France ensured Guido Migliozzi won his third DP World Tour event and moved up to third on the European Points List with 507.10 points.
It would be a Ryder Cup debut in his home country, Italy, should Migliozzi make Luke Donald’s team at Marco Simone Golf & Country Club in Rome and the European Captain will no doubt be impressed by the 25-year-old’s bold and brave performance in Paris.
Despite starting the day five strokes back of Denmark’s Rasmus Højgaard and opening with five pars, Migliozzi’s round caught a spark at the sixth hole as he went on to make nine birdies in the next 13 holes at the 2018 Ryder Cup venue.
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However, the most impressive of these would come at the final hole, regarded as one of the toughest finishing holes in golf. Migliozzi played a power fade from 192 yards over the water and duly holed the six-foot putt to card the only birdie at that hole all day and the lowest final round in 104 years at the Open de France.
A Ryder Cup debut in Rome would be a dream come true for the Italian after narrowly missing out on a place in Pádraig Harrington’s 2020 Ryder Cup team at Whistling Straits.
Migliozzi said: “I felt I was close last year to get into the team and I just didn’t end well.
“But it's a new start, from Wentworth points were open and it's been a great start and I'm looking forward to continuing my good golf and the Ryder Cup in Rome for me would be a dream.”
He added: “It was one of those days that I love to play golf. I love to battle on the golf course and today I received something back from golf. It was a beautiful day of golf.
“I was trying to be more comfortable on the course and at the start of the weekend I was 13 shots back but yesterday Rasmus missed the second hole and it almost opened the door again and I just kept playing great.”
On that approach to 18 he added: "The shot was something incredible. I went for it and it paid off. My caddie was not happy; it was not the real strategy but I felt I could try."
Despite leading after three days, it wasn’t to be for Højgaard, although the solo second place does see the Dane move up 12 places and into sixth on the European Points List as he also chases a first Ryder Cup start.
There were further strong performances for 2016 Ryder Cup player Thomas Pieters, who finished in a tie for third, with 2014 Ryder Cup winner Jamie Donaldson finishing in solo sixth place.
As it stands Shane Lowry (835.00 points), Rory McIlroy (560.00 points) and Migliozzi (507.10 points) would claim the three automatic qualifying spots on the European Points List, with Robert MacIntyre (27.90 points), Danny Willett (24.29 points) and Jon Rahm (19.02 points) currently sitting in the top three positions on the World Points List.
The 2023 Ryder Cup will take place between Sept. 25 – Oct. 1 at Marco Simone Golf & Country Club, Rome, Italy.
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