DS Automobiles Italian Open 2021: Form stats for this week's tournament in Rome

From the rarefied air of the Swiss Alps, to the outskirts of the Italian capital, the European Tour has arrived in Rome for this week's Italian Open.

Sponsored by DS Automobiles, this year's edition takes place at Marco Simone Golf & Country Club, which is located approximately 10 miles north-east of Rome city centre.

Designed by Jim Fazio and David Mezzacane, the course opened for business in 1989 and five years later staged Italy's national open.

That tournament was won by Argentina's Eduardo Romero and remains, up until this week, the only occasion in which the course has hosted a European Tour event.

However, in 2023, Marco Simone will reach even greater heights when it stages the 44th Ryder Cup.

Marco Simone is a parkland course where water comes into play on seven holes, ranging in shape from ponds to streams.

Fairways change direction on around half of the holes, with some of the dog-legs more abrupt than others.

The Italian Open field includes a number of pros who played in the opening FedEx Cup Play-Off event in New Jersey, but failed to progress to the next stage, and have now returned to Europe to prepare for next week's prestigious PGA at Wentworth.

These are Matt Fitzpatrick, Garrick Higgo and Matt Wallace. This trio are joined on the tee by Tommy Fleetwood who appears to have lost his way a little over the past five months.

Current form

One big name who is enjoying his best run of form since the summer of 2019 is former Open champion Henrik Stenson.

The 45-year-old Swede has posted back-to-back top-four finishes on the European Tour and, although these tournaments in the Czech Republic and Switzerland are hardly top drawer, it is certainly a welcome boost for Stenson whose current World Ranking position is 143.

Another golfer to enjoy successive top-four finishes this month is American Sean Crocker who is a three-time runner-up on the European Tour.

In the same 'winless' category as Crocker is Belgian Thomas Detry who continues to perform well, albeit without a victory to his name. The 28-year-old has had nine podium finishes on the European Tour.

With no course history available, current form is the main guide to this week's Italian Open.

Latest betting for the Italian Open

Bernd Wiesberger can certainly boast of good recent form, although his final-hole blunder at Crans-sur-Sierre on Sunday will not have left him in a great mood as he arrives in Italy on the verge of qualifying for Europe's Ryder Cup team.

Needing a par for victory at the last, the Austrian double-bogeyed the 18th to finish second in the Swiss Alps.

And one other golfer in good shape is Scotsman Calum Hill whose recent victory in Kent moved him into the world's top 100 for the first time.

A tie-for-seventh on Sunday was his third straight top-10 and, although this week's field is a little stronger on paper than the one in Switzerland, the 27-year-old could easily be among the contenders for an each-way finish in Italy.

Twitter: Andy Swales@GolfStatsAlive

MC* - Missed Additional 54-Hole Cut

Note: List Contains Leading Reserves