ABU DHABI: TCA Abu Dhabi ambassador, Italian Matteo Manassero who in 2010 become the youngest player then to make the cut at the Masters, at 16 years and 11 months and 22 days, is all of 21 today and raring to take year 2015 by storm after a barren 2014. The youngest European Tour winner still, Manassero tells XPRESS why the $2.7m 2015 HSBC Abu Dhabi Golf Championship being held at the Abu dhabi Golf Course from January 15 to 18 could just be the start of it all.
What are your expectations flying back in to Abu Dhabi in the new year?
I will come ready and hoping to get my 2015 season off to a good start. I am working hard over the break to make sure I am prepared and happy with my game and so that I arrive in Abu Dhabi in January as ready as I can be.
You are a TCA Abu Dhabi ambassador. So playing here should almost feel like playing at home?
Yes I feel very proud when I play in Abu Dhabi and also when I represent the brand all around the world. It really is one of my favourite tournaments of the year and I am very comfortable in Abu Dhabi and know the capital very well these days. I choose to spend a lot of time in Abu Dhabi practising and relaxing at various times throughout the year because of all the excellent facilities and courses so it feels almost like a home tournament to me nowadays.
You have played the National course recently, what did you think of the changes that have been made to the course?
Yes, I went to play there afer the Dubai World Championship. I was very curious to see what the changes were like and was very happy to be able to play all 18 holes and get a feel for how the changes might affect my strategy in the tournament week in January. I think they have done a great job in tweaking the holes and improving the course. Maybe players will need to be a little more cautious in playing some of the altered holes. Some have been lengthened and some the greens are cut closer to the water hazards and there are some new pot bunkers to avoid on the 16th that could really cause trouble if you go into them. I think overall the course is going to be harder but still a very fair test and there will be plenty of birdies out there.
What difference do you think will a strong showing here make to your season in the new year or your rankings?
I was a little frustrated not to manage a win in 2014 and have been working hard on my game to get my confidence back up. I feel my game is very close to where I want it and I want to make a strong confident start to my season in Abu Dhabi. It is such a strong field that there will be a lot of world ranking points available too so a good finish would definitely be rewarded with a move up the world rankings.
Is there any added pressure to perform here?
It isn’t so much pressure but it is one of the strongest European Tour events we play in all season so I would love to do well personally and also to make the TCA Abu Dhabi proud to be associated with me.
