Italian Open Each-Way Tips: 25/1 Ferguson set for spa treatment

• Scotsman Ewen Ferguson can land a fourth DP World Tour title

• 2025 winner Martin Couvra has course form

• Darius Van Driel should be suited by this short test

There is always something intriguing, albeit in the vaguest of ways, in the manner with which the Italian Open travels around the country.

Of course, it made sense that it settled at Marco Simone GC outside Rome ahead of the Ryder Cup, but it wasn't the first time the national championship had made itself a temporary home.

In the 21st century, for example, it has had residencies at Castello Tolcinasco, Royal Park i Roveri and Milano, but at other times it has flitted around all over the place.

It's almost like a tourist who goes through a spell of returning to a favourite resort and then, having got itchy feet, decides to embark on a mad coach tour, staying just one night on a relentless itinerary.

And, having been at Adriatic last year, the tournament has now moved across the country to the Argentario Golf and Wellness Resort so we're in an itchy feet period.

The Argentine Ricardo Gonzalez won a Legends Tour event there in 2022 and John Parry completed his career revival with a third win in the Challenge Tour's 2024 season, thus earning Battlefield Promotion (not a bad metaphor given the course isn't far from Elba where Napoleon was exiled when everyone got fed up with his warmongering).

That second tier event was something of an oddity because the players who finished first to sixth all did so in solo fashion, something that happens far less often than you might imagine in this game we all love to be bewildered by.

As the column has mentioned on a few occasions, Gonzalez was something of a curiosity himself. A beefy, big-hitting Argentinean he often thrived on short and fiddly tracks, almost as if his most obvious skill set was something of a red herring.

Parry is a more obvious favourer of shortish tracks and it might be notable that Gonzalez won at Muthaiga in Kenya while Parry very nearly did when second there earlier this year.

As Steve Rawlings notes in his preview, Argentario is short, with small, slopey greens and it is also often undulating from tee to green.

The top finishers in last year's Challenge Tour event had, one way or another (fast starts, low rounds, good finishes), fared well at Adamstal in Austria earlier in the season which makes a bit of sense because it is another short course with undulations and small contoured putting surfaces.

Main Bet: Ewen Ferguson 1pt each-way @ 25/1

Having set out the stall that Muthaiga and Adamstal could be excellent pointers towards success this week, the name of Scotsman Ewen Ferguson somewhat leaps from the page.

Back in 2022 he was the four shot 54-hole leader at Muthaiga but he was yet to become a DP World Tour leader at the time and blinked in the final round, carding a 76 for eighth.

He has, however, backed up his fondness for that track since then, when seventh there earlier this year.

What, then, of Adamstal?

He was second there in 2019 and second again in 2021.

Shortly after that near miss at Muthaiga in early 2022, he showed that he had learned lessons of being in contention to win the Qatar Masters and he added the ISPS Handa Invitational later that year.

Next week he will defend the BMW International Open in Munich and he could well go there as a four-time winner because he's in great nick as well as being a potentially excellent fit for the test.

He was top ten after 36 and 54 holes in Turkey three starts ago, the 54-hole leader when second in Belgium, and then fourth late time out in the Netherlands.

Next Best: Martin Couvra 1pt each-way @ 30/1

I was at the Amateur Championship last week at Royal St. George's and the French youngsters were flying with four of them among the top eight strokeplay qualifiers and two of them made the last eight.

When I got chatting to the quarter-finalists, I learned of the hot housing that goes on at Le Golf National - they attend from early teenage years, board from Sunday night to Friday night, and are schooled as well as coached on the course.

Martin Couvra is something of an idol to them all at the moment having emerged from the amateur ranks and quickly found his feet among the pros.

Given his spectacular progress this year, plus a bit of course form, I'm a little surprised by his price.

In this rookie year, he's been seventh at Leopard Creek, fourth at The Royal, fifth at Doha, fifth at Mission Hills, and eighth last time out at Gut Altentann.

That list does not include his victory at Carya.

It's a persuasive body of work on its own but he was also third at Adamstal last year and also T12th at Argentario.

He also won on a short layout in Spain on the 2023 Challenge Tour.

Final Bet: Darius Van Driel 1pt each-way @ 110/1

The Dutchman Darius Van Driel had a sticky start to the year but found his feet when second in the Soudal Open (like first pick Ewen Ferguson he was defeated in extra holes by Kristoffer Reitan).

He's always a better prospect when playing short tracks (which Rinkven was for that near miss) and guess what? He's another with Adamstal and Muthaiga form.

In fact, that pointer form is as good as it gets.

He won at Adamstal in 2018 and then triumphed at Muthaiga last year for his first win on the DP World Tour (has another two top 12 finishes there).

He's also got a win on the shortish Geneve and is very tempting at three figures.

Now read Steve Rawlings' preview of the Italian Open

Having difficulty working out the place returns? Fret no more - you can easily work out your returns with our each-way calculator.