(PRIMASPORT) FASANO – The Italian Pro Tour golf presented by Buccellati stops in Puglia for the Sergio Melpignano Senior Italian Open, a tournament on the Staysure Legends Tour. This tournament sees champions "over 50" compete at San Domenico Golf in Savelletri di Fasano (Brindisi) from Thursday, October 22nd to Saturday, October 24th. The four-day spectacle will conclude on Sunday with the Pro Am. The tournament is played over 54 holes, 18 per day, without cuts. The prize pool is €450,000. This is the fifth time the Apulian club has hosted the National Open of "Legends," now in its 15th edition, after hosting the tournament in 2021, 2023, 2024, and 2025. The event is held in the name and memory of Sergio Melpignano, founder of San Domenico Golf, which, inaugurated in 2003, further boosted the region's development and quickly established itself as a venue for important and prestigious tournaments. The Sergio Melpignano Senior Italian Open is the fifth of six seasonal events on the Italian Pro Tour presented by Buccellati, the circuit of national and international competitions organized by the Italian Golf Federation, with the collaboration of the Minister for Sport and Youth and the support of Official Advisor Infront Italy.
Stephen Gallacher, No. 1 on the circuit, leads the field – The Staysure Legends Tour stars will be teeing off in Puglia, including seven of the top ten, four season winners, and four past winners. The Scottish player attracting attention ahead of the tournament is: Stephen Gallacher, number one in the ranking, his compatriot David Drysdale (n. 10), English Peter Baker (n. 7) and those who climbed to the top step of the podium, the Swedes Johan Edfors (n. 2, the only one with two successes) and Mikael Lundberg (n. 3) and the English Greg Owen (n. 5) and Simon Griffiths (n. 8). The Brazilian is also worth following. Adilson Da Silva, the Welsh Bradley Dredge, the South African Keith Horne, the Austrian Markus Brier, the New Zealander Mark Brown and the English Matthew Cort, Andrew Raitt e David Howell, the latter holding the record for appearances on the DP World Tour with 726 appearances.
Past winners – The Englishman defends his only title on the circuit, in a season that has been up and down for him. Andrew Marshall, 53 years old from Sutton-in-Ashfield, whose palmarès includes two successes on the PGA EuroPro Tour and as many on the MENA Golf Tour. In the field three other players who have scored in previous years: the German Thomas Gögele (2024) and two authors of a double, the American Clark Dennis (2017, 2018) and the South African James Kingston (2021, 2023).
Five Italians in the race – There will be five Italians on the starting tee: Costantino Rocca, Emanuele Canonica, Alessandro Tadini, Michele Reale and Gianluca Pietrobono. Constantine Rocca (69 years old from Bergamo) is an iconic figure in Italian golf: he was the first Italian to compete in the Ryder Cup in 1993, also playing for Team Europe in the victorious editions of 1995 and 1997. In his 501 appearances on the European Tour he has collected five titles and in his first season on the Senior Tour, in 2007, he won two tournaments. Emanuele Canonica (Piedmontese from Moncalieri, born in 1971) won the 2005 Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles. He held the European Tour Driving Distance Record for three consecutive years, from 1998 to 2000, and in 2009 he won the contest held on the runway at Castellon Airport in Spain (904 yards with a drive). Canonica is having a very positive season on the circuit, as evidenced by his four top-ten finishes. Currently 15th in the rankings, he aims to maintain the full berth that will be awarded to the top 20 in the final rankings. They will bring all their international experience to the table. Alessandro Tadini (Piedmontese from Borgomanero, born in 1973, has 230 tournaments under his belt on the European Tour and four titles on the Challenge Tour), Gianluca Pietrobono (Roman, 58 years old, over 200 races between European Tour, Challenge Tour and Alps Tour) and Michael Royal (from Biella, Piedmont, 55 years old), who in 1997 raised two Challenge Tour trophies to the sky, finishing first in the order of merit.
“"Legends Experience": Fabio Fognini and Ruud Gullit also on the green – In addition to the tournament rankings valid for the Staysure Legends Tour, 22 amateurs will also take to the field at San Domenico Golf, competing in a separate ranking as part of the "Legends Experience." Among them will be the former tennis player Fabio Fognini and former footballers Ruud Gullit, Roberto Donadoni, Mauro Tassotti e Michael Paramatti. (PRIMASPORT)
