Open d'Italia 2026 preview, picks & analysis

Blink and you may have missed it. Former Masters champion Danny Willett, who has been desperately seeking a return to his best form, finished tied seventh at the recent KLM Open. It was easily his best performance in longer than he would care to remember.

Willett will be hoping to continue that fine form at this week’s Italian Open at Circolo Golf Torino. The eight-time DP World Tour winner will make his seventh appearance in Italy’s national open when he tees it up in Turin, having enjoyed three top-10 finishes on Italian fairways, his best being a decade ago at Golf Club Milano.

The Englishman came agonisingly close to adding the title to his list of accolades in 2016, finishing runner-up by one shot to home favourite Francesco Molinari after a final round duel.

That season also saw Willett win the Dubai Desert Classic, claim his maiden major championship at The Masters, represent Europe at the Ryder Cup and finish runner-up on the Race to Dubai for a second consecutive season.

The 38-year-old will hope to recreate some of that magic.

"I’m really looking forward to coming back to the Open d’Italia this year," said Willett. "I have some great memories from over the years and am excited to see what we can achieve in 2026. I can’t wait to play at Circolo Golf Torino for the first time and be back in front of Italian fans."

Patrick Reed returns to DP World Tour action after the sensational start he made following his departure from LIV Golf. The American has already secured his PGA Tour card for 2026 but will be determined to be crowned Race to Dubai champion.

In successive weeks, he won the Dubai Desert Classic, finished tied second at the Bahrain Championship and won the Qatar Masters. He was also tied 12th at The Masters and tied 10th at the US PGA Championship but this is first appearance on the DP World Tour since since the Joburg Open at the beginning of March. It would be a brave man who would bet against him adding a third title of the year. He is now comfortably inside the top 30 in the world rankings.

It goes without saying that the locals want nothing more than a home winner. Not so long ago it would have been fanciful to suggest that Francesco Molinari might be in the frame to win for the third time. But the Italian is working with long-time coach Denis Pugh again and there are some signs that the relationship might be bearing fruit. He finished tied fourth at the Dubai Desert Classic and tied sixth at the Hero Indian Open and was in contention at the recent KLM Open until finishing the week with a bitterly disappointing 76.

Luke Donald, the former world number one and two-time Ryder Cup winning captain will make his sixth appearance in Italy’s national open, returning to the country for the first time since leading Team Europe to victory at Marco Simone in 2023.

Donald led Europe to a 16½-11½ win in Rome three years ago, before going on to secure victory at Bethpage Black in New York in 2025, giving Europe its first Ryder Cup triumph across the pond since 2012.

It was here Donald also became only the second European captain to win on both home and away soil. He will aim to make history and become the first captain to lead a Ryder Cup team to three consecutive victories at Adare Manor in 2027.

"I’m extremely excited to come back to the Open d’Italia this year," said Donald. "Italy holds a special place in my heart, after the magnificent performance of Team Europe in Marco Simone in 2023, and I am looking forwarding to returning in June."

I am a huge fan of Spain’s Eugenio Chacarra. The 26-year-old is a thrilling talent with a go-for-broke approach to the game. 

Born in Madrid, he was a promising footballer before deciding to focus on golf after a wrist injury. Chacarra attended Wake Forest University, where his sister Carolina also played golf, before transferring to Oklahoma State University, studying Sports Management, Finance and Psychology.

He was a member of the Spanish team that finished fourth at the 2021 European Amateur Team Championships, where he recorded the lowest individual score in the qualification round. He was a first-team All American and reached second on the World Amateur Golf Ranking before turning professional in 2022.

Playing on a sponsors invitation, he won his maiden DP World Tour title at the 2025 Hero Indian Open, 18 months after his last professional victory at the Asian Tour’s St Andrews Bay Championship. And just over a year later he was a winner again, with a birdie at the final hole giving him the KLM Open title. 

Mikael Lindberg is a late developer. The 33-year-old Swede is one of the biggest hitters in the business. He has not always been able to control his power but has clearly been working hard on his game and this year won the Turkish Airlines Open as well as finishing third at the China Open and is now in prime position to secure a PGA Tour card.

On the other side of the coin is Pablo Larrazabal. A nine-time DP World Tour winner, the Spaniard is enduring a nightmare season, having missed nine successive cuts. He finally looked to have turned the corner at the KLM Open. Three under par well into his second round, the wheels came off in spectacular fashion and he admitted that as he fell back towards the cut line his hands started shaking. His peers will surely all wish him well as he battles to get his career back on track.

Twelve months ago at the 200th time of asking, Frenchman Adrien Saddier won his maiden DP World Tour title at the Italian Open, beating countryman Martin Couvra by two shots. He finished at 14-under-par, making five birdies in his last nine holes at Argentario Golf Club.

He finished four-under-par for the day, after a nervy front nine where he made two bogeys and one birdie.

In an emotional post-round interview, he said: "It's great. It's taken so much work to be able to do this. I'm just grateful. I started the back nine really good and I just said 'just stay in your own zone, just keep focused, make the putts". And I did it."

The Italian Open is the penultimate event of the DP World Tour’s European Swing, the fourth of five Global Swings included on the 2026 Race to Dubai.

This year marks a return to Circolo Golf Torino, the event having previously been played there in 1999, 2013 and 2014.

Tournament Winners:

It was won in 2015 by Rikard Karlberg, in 2016 by Francesco Molinari, in 2017 by Tyrrell Hatton, in 2018 by Thorbjorn Olesen, in 2019 by Bernd Wiesberger, in 2020 by Ross McGowan, in 2021 by Nicolai Hojgaard, in 2022 by Robert MacIntyre, in 2023 by Adrian Meronk, in 2024 by Marcel Siem and last year by Adrien Saddier.

The Course:

Circolo Golf Torino is a par 71 measuring 7,210 yards. It is laid out over gently undulating terrain with plenty of trees, bunkers and water hazards.

Form Guide:

It is impossible to look beyond Patrick Reed, with two wins and a runner-up finish to his name.

Prize Money:

The total prize fund is $3m, with 3,500 Race to Dubai points to the winner.

How to Watch:

Thursday, June 25, Friday, June 26, Saturday, June 27, Sky Sports Golf, 12.30pm; Sunday, June 28, Sky Sports Golf, 11am.

To Win:

Patrick Reed. World class 

Each Way:

Eugenio Chacarra. Hugely gifted Spaniard

Each Way:

Mikael Lindberg. Late developer

Five to Follow:

Patrick Reed. Hot favourite

Eugenio Chacarra. A superstar in the making

Mikael Indberg. Hugely impressive

Bernd Wiesberger. Back in business

Casey Jarvis. Having a dream season

Five Outsiders to Watch:

Guido Migliozzi. A conundrum

Danny Willett. Looking to reproducer KLM form

Francesco Molinari. Sentimental favourite - who still has plenty of game

Pablo Larrazabal. Having a horrible season

Luke Donald. Can still putt the lights out