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Freddy is an interesting long-Schott in Italy
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Take Ryo and Rico in Detroit
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Steve backed Brian Harman last week and in one sense the lefty delivered - he recorded a fifth successive top 10 at TPC River Highlands.
Alas he was never really contending.
On to this week and I'm stepping in as we take on a new course for the Italian Open (the Argentario Golf & Wellness Retreat) on the DP World Tour and investigate a return to Detroit GC for the Rocket Mortgage Classic on the PGA Tour.
In his preview of the Italian Open Steve, noted that this week's course was designed by David Mezzacane who was also a co-designer at Nazionale.
That track hosted the Italian Challenge in 2022 and the German Freddy Schott took to it, carding rounds of 66-67 to lead at halfway. A Saturday 71 maintained a share of the lead, but another 71 on Sunday saw him slip back to fifth.
That layout was below 7,000 yards as is this week's test and in that period durnig the summer three years ago the 23-year-old was also fourth at Golf Blue Green and third at Adamstal - both of them well below 7,000 yards.
The latter is also a course which players who thrived at Argentario in last year's Challenge Tour event have played well on, as is Muthaiga in Kenya (a track that plays shorter than 7,000 yards due to altitude) - and Schott was seventh there earlier this year.
He's not done much more than make the cut in his last two outings, but I like those three clues.
Back Freddy Schott (2 Us)
Place order to lay 8 Us @ 10.09/1 and 12 Us @ 2.01/1
Quietly Ryo Hisatsune is putting together a very nice season and he currently sits 67th in the FedEx Cup rankings.
The good stuff started with T10th in the Mexico Open and he's played four rounds of golf in nine of his last 10 starts - a run that includes five top 20s, the best of them being fourth in the Valspar Championship, fifth in the Texas Open and sixth just two starts ago in the Charles Schwab Challenge.
In addition to that, the 22-year-old and partner Takumi Kanaya contended all week in the Zurich Classic before struggling in the final round.
In last year's edition of this event he laboured to a first round 75 but bounced back in style with 65-67 which shows he has gears to call on in the Motor City.
The clincher is that his best performance of his rookie campaign was when third at Sedgefield which, like Detroit this week, is a Donald Ross design.
Back Ryo Hisatsune (2 Us)
Place order to lay 8 Us @ 10.09/1 and 12 Us @ 2.01/1
This time last year Rico Hoey was making hard work of his rookie campaign on the PGA Tour whereupon he had a fine summer and secured his card for this year.
This year the 29-year-old is in much finer fettle - in fact, he has three top 12 finishes in his last eight solo starts (T11th at the Houston Open, T12th in the Corales Puntacana Championship, seventh in the Myrtle Bach Classic).
He also carded a third round 64 last time out in the RBC Canadian Opento head into the final round just three shots off the lead. A 72 followed to see him end the week T32nd but it gave him a sniff of contending and that often leads to something more.
The good run of form last summer started in this event when he was sixth and he shortly afterwards missed out on victory only in extra holes at the ISCO Championship.
He was also T22nd at Ross's Sedgefield and he also won a Korn Ferry Tour event (the Knoxville Open) at Holston Hills which is another Ross creation.
Place order to lay 8 Us @ 10.09/1 and 12 Us @ 2.01/1