Filippo Ponzano (Turin) and Noa Zocco (Asolo) won the men's and women's National Medal Championships, dedicated to two great brothers of Italian golf, Franco Bevione and Isa Goldschmid.
Women's Tournament/Isa Goldschmid Trophy Noa Zocco, with an excellent final round of 68 (-4), the best score of the round, recovered from third place to win the title with a 279 (67 72 72 68, -9) on the par 72 Le Pavoniere Golf & Country Club course in Prato. She overtook her clubmate Natalia Aparicio, second with a 281 (-7) and winner of last week's Under-18 International Italian Championship, and Giulietta Bertero (Turin), third with a 284 (-4) and winner of the Italian Girls' Medal Championship in May.
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Noa Zocco and Filippo Ponzano, results
Martina Benazzo (Parco di Roma) finished fourth with a score of 286 (-2), Paris Appendino (Turin) in fifth with a par of 288, Giorgia Scortichini (Franciacorta) in sixth with a score of 289 (+1), and Matilde Partele (Asolo) in seventh with a score of 290 (+2), the other competitor who dipped below 70, along with Zocco, with a partial score of 69 (-3), and Matilde Innocenti Angelini (Firenze Ugolino). Elena Verticchio (Olgiata), the defending champion, finished 20th with a score of 301 (+13).
Attending the awards ceremony were Cristiano Cerchiai, President of the Italian Golf Federation, Stefano Frigeri, Deputy Vice President of the FIG, Marta Maestroni, General Secretary of the FIG, club President Michele Chisena, and director Niccol Cateni. Cerchiai emphasized his desire to be present at the event because he strongly believes in youth golf, and to this end, the Federation is undertaking a series of initiatives to foster the development of young talent.
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Noa Zocco, an 18-year-old from Monza who has been a member of the Italian national team for some time, boasts among his successes the Under-18 Italian International Championship (2024) and two Cadet Championship victories (2022, 2023).
In the photos: Noa Zocco; the awards table, from left: Niccol Cateni, Michele Chisena, Cristiano Cerchiai, Marta Maestroni, Stefano Frigeri; Stefano Frigeri presents an FIG award to Michele Chisena; Natalia Aparicio; Giulietta Bertero.
On the Marco Simone Golf & Country Club course (par 72) in Guidonia Montecelio, Filippo Ponzano was the star of the tournament, earning a deserved victory. Taking the lead in the third round, he then controlled his opponents and with a total of 278 (71 68 68 71, -10), he left Lapo Francesco Bisazza (Montecchia Golf) three strokes behind, second with 281 (-7), and Matteo Manini (Le Fonti) six strokes behind, third with 284 (-4), who had led in the first two rounds.
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In fourth place with a 286 (-2) is Giovanni Binaghi (Monticello), who rose from 15th place with an excellent 67 (-5), the best score of the round. In fifth place with a 287 (-1) is Michele Ferrero (Turin), who won the Italian International Championship in April. In sixth place with a 290 (+2) are Giampaolo Gagliardi (Olgiata), Federico Randazzo (Sicilias Picciolo), Sebastiano Moro (Montecchia Golf), and Pietro Boeris (Padova), and in tenth place with a 292 (+4).
Filippo Ponzano, a 21-year-old from Turin who is a member of the Italian national team, has won titles in the Italian International Championship (2022), the Boys Match Play Championship, and the Boys U16 Category of the Croatian Junior Open (2019).
The two events were held over 72 holes, 18 per day, and 218 competitors took part, 144 boys and 74 girls.
