Italian teens get 'inside the ropes' with McIlroy thanks to DP World at Italian Open.

Two of Italy's best junior golfers were given 'Honorary Observer' access by DP World on Friday, and witnessed Rory McIlroy grab the second round lead at the DP World Tour's Italian Open from 'inside the ropes'. 15 year-olds Giorgio Celani and Leonardo Iacovitti were visibly excited as the followed the tournament's marquee group at the Marco Simone Golf Club, just outside Rome. "Francesco Molinari, and Rory McIlroy and Nicolai Hojgaard are my idols of golf" said an excited Gelani. Both teens are in the Italian National Team set up, playing at under-16 level and up. The two amateurs, who harbour aspirations to turn professional, compete both at home and abroad with much success. This year Leonardo has had two junior wins in Italy, whilst Celani finished 3rd at the 2022 Italian National U16 Championships, held at Modena Golf & Country Club. Both are keenly aware of how tough it is to reach the summit of golf. "The future, I don't know because in these three years it's very important to play golf, and become a professional golfer or coach" said Leonardo. The pair were able to witness one of the longest successful putts of the season when Molinari holed out from well over 40 feet at the first, and they also saw a sparkling 66 from McIlroy as he climbed to the top of the leaderboard on the 2023 Ryder Cup course. DP World, a global end-to-end logistics solutions provider and title partner of the DP World Tour, partnered with the Italian Golf Federation to identify the players for this experience. Through their partnership with the Tour, DP World are dedicated to growing the game of golf around the world and developing the next generation of DP World Tour stars. The DS Automobiles Italian Open is an event on the DP World Tour, which next heads to the Cazoo Open de France at the Golf National in Paris. The season will culminate at the DP World Tour Championship at Jumeirah Golf Estates in Dubai from 17-20 November 2022.