The Italian trio of Andrea Perrino, Gregory Molteni and Nicola Maestroni stormed to an eight-shot first round lead in the 2021 International Team Championship [ITC] at Penina Hotel & Golf Resort.

With the two best 18-hole scores to count towards the team total each day, the exclusion of Perrino’s three-under-par 70 demonstrated how strong of a showing this was for the Italians, who have come very close before in this event and were certainly looking to make an early statement this time around.

Maestroni capped off Molteni’s four-under par 69 (four-under-par) with a scintillating 65 (eight-under-par) that was built around a carefully planned strategy and some quite mesmerising putting: “It is a great layout and with a good strategy, you can get a score going. Fortunately, I have two very strong teammates who are very straight off the tee and it ensured we could shoot the lowest round possible today.”

The players were quick to attribute their performances to a strong team ethic: “We are very good friends and I think that is really important. It means a lot to be representing the PGA of Italy and we are grateful for the opportunity to compete in the International Team Championship here at Penina”, commented Perrino. This was echoed by Molteni: “We are Italian, so we love to play as a team rather than just as individuals. Two years ago, we finished second but this year we have a very consistent team and I like our chances.”

In the Team Shield, Team Slovakia (Juraj Svarik, Adam Puchmelter and Jan Keher) also shared similar success after the first round, as they collectively shot 144 (71 from Svarik and 73 from Puchmelter) to lead Team Poland by 11 strokes heading into the second round.

For more information visit the Tournament Hub Page https://cp.golf/2021ITC. For more information on the CPG visit cpg.golf, or find the CPG on Twitter (@cpg_golf), Facebook (@cpg.golf), LinkedIn, Instagram (@cpg_golf) and Anchor.fm.

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