But way back in the noughties, the golf world was abuzz with talk of another hot new talent that had burst on to the scene and smashed a host of records on the way.

A fresh-faced Italian by the name of Matteo Manassero, at the age of 16, became the youngest-ever winner of the British Amateur Championship in 2009, before winning the Open Championship Silver Medal with a T13 finish.

He went on to become youngest player ever to make the cut at the Masters, and he still holds the mark as the youngest golfer to win on the DP World Tour thanks to his triumph in the Castelló Masters in Valencia, Spain.

Everything was set for a glorious career, the Italian looking to following the footsteps of Constantino Rocca and the Molinari brothers as one of Italy’s finest golfing exports. By 2013, Manassero had five wins on what was then the European Tour, entered the top 30 in the world rankings and has the world at his feet.

Matteo Manassero won the BMW PGA Championship in 2013

However, that was when things started to go wrong for the still-teenaged Italian.

After collecting a fourth-place at the 2014 Scottish Open — as is often the case with young golfers — Manassero’s form deserted him, making only six cuts in 22 competitive outings in 2015, leading to a downward spiral that saw him lose his European Tour card and forced him back to the drawing board and on to the lower-tier Challenge Tour.

“Simply put, I didn’t perform well,” Manassero told Golf Digest Middle East. “Golf is hard and sometimes it goes like that. Your technique goes the wrong way and then that creeps into the mental side and it can be a vicious circle, which is difficult to get out of.

“If your form goes — there are only 110 or so guys who keep their DPWT card and they are all really good — then it is so hard to stay at the top.”

Thankfully, at 29, Manassero still has time on his side to get back to golf’s top table — an opportunity he is ready to grab with both hands, starting with the upcoming Challenge Tour double-header in the UAE capital: the Abu Dhabi Challenge at Abu Dhabi Golf Club (April 27-30), and the UAE Challenge at Saadiyat Beach Golf Club (May 4-7).

With a revamped game and a thirst for more success, Manassero is firing on all cylinders once again and he has his sights set on regaining his DP World Tour card in the Challenge Tour’s Race To Mallorca season-long rankings race.

Matteo Manassero has resdicovered his form on the Challenge Tour

“I started to think I could get back after Covid — well during Covid, actually,” he said. “I did a lot of mental work with professional help as we could not do much more out on the course, so I worked on how I spoke to myself, working closely with my mental coach, and then I got to work on my technique.

“After Covid, I got back into playing properly, and I had a lot of dust to shake of around 2021. I knew I could play better now and it began to show, both on the course and how I regarded things from outside the ropes.

“I was enjoying it again. I went very close in 2021 to getting my card back and this year … the Challenge Tour can be quite funny in that, if you have one great week and win, that can set you up for the season and keep you right up there in the Race standings. So, say, if I win in Abu Dhabi — just one good week — that should have me in a position come the end of the season. The competition is very high on the Challenge Tour but I am optimistic once again and with a bit of consistency I know I will be back up there.

“I am 29 now, and thankfully, I still have a lot of golf ahead of me, so I am ready to start the second part of my career, I have been on tour for a long time already and now I feel like I want to do things properly.”

Still on the right side of 30, Manassero sure has been around for a long time already, and he is more than happy to act as an inspiration for all those young golfers who are keen to make it on their own.

“More and more boys and girls are starting earlier in golf there days — it can be thanks to the access to facilities, especially here in the UAE, and to the top coaches who can guide them from day one,” he said. “Then there are people like me, who they can look at as an example to see others have done it before, so that can give them confidence that they can make it, too.”

Matteo Manassero focused on his mental strengths to help his game during Covid

Manassero has also played many times in the UAE over his career (“I have lost count how many times I have been here,” he admits), and he is relishing yet another return.

“This place is fantastic with so many championship courses and top-level facilities,” he said. “From Abu Dhabi [HSBC Championship] in 2009, I have been coming out here for tournaments and for practice and warm-weather training. It is heaven for us golfers in Europe where the winter temperatures can drop well below zero. The UAE is a perfect spot for us this time of year.”

While a spot on Luke Donald’s team is a dream too far this year, Manassero is thrilled to see the Ryder Cup coming to Italy later this year, when Europe take on the US at Marco Simone Golf Club in September, and he is confident it will inspire a future generation of golfers to thrive in the country.

“We saw what happened in Spain when it hosted the Ryder Cup at Valderrama [in 1997] and the legacy it left for Spanish golf, with the likes of Jon Rahm and Carlota Ciganda making it right to the very top,” he said. “The power of the Ryder Cup can do the same in Italy this year and can really launch the sport across the country. I would have been unthinkable for Italy to host the Ryder Cup a while ago and this is such a fantastic opportunity to show what we have to offer and also help inspire the future generation and unearth some more talent.”

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The European Tour winners boarded a catamaran from Al Mouj Marina and sailed out to showcase the beauty of the Muscat coastline in a novel nearest-the-pin contest.

You can check out some of the highlights of the challenge at the spectacular Greg Norman-designed layout here:

@EuropeanTour stars @ManasseroMatteo & @SiemMarcel are all aboard this year’s @OmanOpenGolf at Al Mouj Golf. Watch them take to the sea to hone their skills! #OmanOpen #GolfinOman #Oman #AlMoujGolf #AlMoujMuscat pic.twitter.com/bTC7SVpnkE

— Al Mouj Golf (@AlmoujGolfOman) February 27, 2019

“That was a fun way to start the week,” said Manassero, a four-time European Tour winner. “This tournament is renowned as being hosted on one of the most beautiful courses that we play on The European Tour, and to have another perspective on the 18th, hitting from the boat, was incredible. I think Marcel may have edged me with the nearest the pin, but hopefully I’ll have my revenge the next few days.”

Siem seemed to enjoy himself too.

“This is my second trip to Oman and the golf course is one of my favourites of the year; the setting, along the coastline, is beautiful and it’s in great condition again. The 18th is an iconic finishing hole, and it was a cool experience to go out with Matteo and see it from the sea, especially as I managed to hit one close at the end.”

Dutchman Joost Luiten is the defending champion this week.

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