ISCO Championship, a different week at the PGA

In the United States, it will certainly be an unusual week, for one of those very few tournaments of the year where the starting field on the Old Continent is light years better than that on the other side of the ocean. The PGA Tour, in collaboration with the DP World Tour, organizes the ISCO Championship, an event that nevertheless offers very important points for the FedExCup and has several reasons of interest, including the incredible number of six players from the Bel Paese.

It will be played in Kentucky for the sixth consecutive year.

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The course is the Keene Trace Golf Club, a very long par 72 of over seven thousand three hundred yards. The course was designed in 1987 by Arthur Hills and quickly became one of the most renowned in the Bluegrass State.

Large greens and numerous bunkers are the defining features of Keene Trace, while the most evocative par 4 is a dramatic finish at the 18th, built around the shores of a lake. The course record is -11 (61), while the best over 72 holes was Jim Herman, who finished the week with 262 strokes in 2019.

The field will feature an eclectic mix of rising stars battling it out against established champions. Reigning PGA TOUR University No. 1 Michael Thorbjornsen returns to the circuit for a third straight week of action after finishing in a tie for second place at the John Deere Classic on Sunday, making his third start as a professional.

He will certainly be one of the most anticipated, along with Luke Clanton. The class of 2003 is still amateur, but is coming off two consecutive top-10s on the PGA Tour (becoming the first non-professional to do so since 1958), including a second-place tie with Thorbjornsen last week.

However, there will also be major winners from the PGA Tour on the starting line, including Daniel Berger, JJ Ryan Brehm and Camilo Villegas. Adam Long was invited by the organization instead, as was former major champion Jason Dufner.

In addition, there are about 50 golfers who usually participate in the DP World Tour and play in Kentucky, including six Italians: Filippo Celli, Francesco Laporta, Edoardo Molinari, Andrea Pavan, Renato Paratore and Lorenzo Scalise.

The blue team that normally plays in Europe is moving to America and it will be very interesting to see what they can combine with different courses, faster greens and a completely new environment. For many it is an absolute first on the PGA Tour and the curiosity is inevitably high.

All eyes are on Celli, who has just scored three consecutive top 10s and could make a splash. In the utopian event of a win this week, there would be the assurance of a career changed forever.