Student Series

Ponzano and Svarvar take early advantage at Student Tour Series - Italy

The R&A

10 Oct 23

3 mins

Filippo Ponzano and Kajsalotta Svarvar are benefitting from a little motherly love while making their first appearances in The R&A Student Tour Series. They hold the lead in the men’s and women’s tournaments at Olgiata Golf Club, Rome, in the first series event played in Italy.

European Institute of Design student Ponzano holds a two-shot lead over Europe’s best student golfers. He fashioned an opening six-under-par 67. Five players share second place on four-under. Svarvar, who attends Halmstad University, returned a four-under-par 69 and sits one shot ahead of Maynooth University’s Kate Lanigan. Unlike the rest of the field who are living out of suitcases this week, 19-year-old Ponzano is bunking at his mother’s house in Rome. In fact, the 2022 Italian International Amateur champion has spent the last week at mum’s, most of that time preparing for his Student Tour Series debut. Svarvar, meanwhile, is literally following in her mother’s footsteps.

Par-5 blitz

Practice made almost perfect for Ponzano. The 19-year-old dropped just one shot, but more than made up for that error with seven birdies. “I only missed one fairway, and only by a yard, and that’s a very good position to be in to attack the pins,” Ponzano said. “The par fives gave me a big advantage because they’re very reachable, and I birdied all of them.

Home cooking

“I’ve been preparing for this tournament since the Ryder Cup finished, so I know it very well and I feel comfortable on it. My mum lives in the middle of Rome so it’s nice to spend time at her place and enjoy time with her and her home cooking. I have my car so I’m commuting from her place this week. I’ve played tournaments Olgiata at in the past. It’s a lovely course and I really enjoy it." Ponzano has been itching to play in The R&A initiative. He added, “This is my first student tour series and I’ve been really looking forward to it. I couldn’t play before because I was still in high school, but I start university next week in Turin at the European Institute of Design where I’ll be studying transportation design. “So I’m looking forward to playing in more Student Tour Series tournaments because they visit some great courses like Le Golf National, Troia, and others. My goal is to make the final event in St Andrews. I’ve never played the Old Course and missed out on the ballot when I was in Scotland this summer. I would be a very happy man to play a tournament there.”

Kajsalotta Svarvar - Sweden

“I played well from tee to green today, especially off the tee: I hit many great drives. I feel I have more to give and can’t wait for the next two days.”

Mother knows best

Svarvar’s eagerness to play the Student Tour Series – Italy stems from her mother’s experience of Olgiata Golf Club. The former Ladies European Tour member played here in the 1991 Rome Classic, which Laura Davies won. “I’ve been looking forward to playing my first tournament on the Student Tour Series and to do it on a course where my mother played is pretty cool,” the 19-year-old said. “I’ve heard so many nice things about the course from her so I couldn’t wait to get here. And she’s right: it is a very nice course. “She’s my golf coach along with my dad, who is also a professional golfer. I’ve got a pretty good support team behind me.”

That winning feeling

The sports science student has another connection with Olgiata: Halmstad coach Sophia Gronberg-Whitmore won her first of three Ladies European Tour events over the Rome course, winning the 1989 Rome Classic. “It’s pretty cool too to think my mum played here and my coach won here,” she said. Svarvar did a pretty cool job of playing the course too. She was five-under-par by the time she reached the 14^th tee thanks to birdies at the second and third holes, and then three straight from the 11^th. She dropped shots at the 15^th and 16^th before bouncing back with a birdie at the par-5, 17^th hole. “I played well from tee to green today, especially off the tee: I hit many great drives,” Svarvar said. “I feel I have more to give and can’t wait for the next two days.”

Professional experience

Svarvar is ranked 570^th on the World Amateur Golf Ranking® thanks to a good summer that saw her record top- 15 finishes in the Portuguese and Spanish Amateur Championships. She also qualified for last year’s Volvo Car Scandinavian Mixed, the co-sanctioned event between the DP World Tour and Ladies' European Tour at Halmstad Golf Club, her home club. Aside from three LET tournaments, Olgiata has staged the World Cup of Golf on two occasions, 1968 and 1984. Ian Poulter won the European Tour‘s 2002 Italian Open. Whichever players win this week, they’ll be walking in the shadows of some golfing greats.

All News