Years later, Matteo Manassero reflects on the most difficult moment of his career. He does so by looking back and then projecting into the future in an interview with Scottish magazine Bunkered. Taking this as an example of how a golfer can fall and bounce back, Manassero recalls the day he decided to take a break from golf.
The decision to temporarily unplug came in 2019, after missing the cut at the Portugal Masters with an 83-shot second round. His scorecard at the time read seven bogeys, one double bogey, and one triple bogey.
Matteo Manassero, results
That day, I didn't say, 'Enough, I've had enough.' I told myself, 'It can't go on like this.' And that day, he explained to Bunkered, was a turning point. I took the time I needed to rebuild a team around me and rediscover my spark.
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"It can't go on like this." We amateurs say it too after yet another setback. The words are the same, but the weight varies depending on who says it. The weight is a millstone when it's said by the youngest winner of the BMW PGA Championship, the Italian who made Europe dream, the man who made millions of Italians fall in love with golf.
"That day," he continues, "I promised myself I'd practice and commit because I still had the energy. The desire to have fun again was still strong inside me."
"If you only look at the results, you don't enjoy anything."
We all know very well what happened before the Portuguese turning point. A dazzling start to his career with four Tour victories before the age of 21 burdened him with pressure and expectations.
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Manassero admits that those same expectations had crushed him more than he was willing to admit. "I was the first to put pressure on myself. Young people," he explains, "don't have the structure that allows them to see the bigger picture: they only think about results. But if you only look at results, you can't enjoy anything, because in golf you don't always play well."
We know well what happened after that sensational start to his career. A new swing and results didn't go hand in hand, and the Veronese native began to slow down. In 2018, Manassero said goodbye to playing on the then-European Tour. In 2019, he took the aforementioned break.
Having dropped to 1,805th in the world rankings, Manassero started again on the Alps Tour, accepting a fresh start. It was there that he rediscovered his rhythm, confidence, and technical identity. Then came the Challenge Tour, then the DP World Tour again. And, finally, yet another milestone: a ticket to the 2025 PGA Tour.
Today, at 32, Manassero looks back with a newfound awareness. "I'm less free than I was then, but I see that as a good thing," he explains. "You can't carry on with the ease of your twenties throughout your entire career. At a certain point, you realize that this is hard work, that maintaining a high level is difficult."
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Manassero doesn't hide the fact that he would have preferred to avoid certain pains, explaining that "it's nicer to have a linear career, without setbacks." But his strength today is precisely what he's had to learn along the way. "Now I have a much better understanding of what I have to do every day. I'm more solid as a professional than I was before."
Maturity, however, doesn't mean giving up on ambition. I hope I have many more years to do great things. I won't be the same as I once was, I won't feel the same, but I can be just as good.
