Costantino Rocca

Last updated
Costantino Rocca
Constantino Rocca.JPG
Personal information
Born (1956-12-04) 4 December 1956 (age 67)
Bergamo, Italy
Height1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Sporting nationalityFlag of Italy.svg  Italy
Residence Bergamo, Italy
Spouse
Antonella
​
(m. 1981)​
Children2
Career
Turned professional1981
Current tour(s) European Seniors Tour
Former tour(s) European Tour
Challenge Tour
Professional wins17
Highest ranking 18 (26 May 1996) [1]
Number of wins by tour
European Tour5
Challenge Tour2
European Senior Tour2
Other9
Best results in major championships
Masters Tournament T5: 1997
PGA Championship T17: 1995
U.S. Open T67: 1996
The Open Championship 2nd: 1995
Achievements and awards
European Seniors Tour
Rookie of the Year 		2007

Costantino Rocca (born 4 December 1956) is an Italian golfer. He was long known as the most successful male golfer that Italy has produced, until the 2018 success of Francesco Molinari, who credited Rocca as an inspiration to him following his Open victory. [2] After a long career on the European Tour, Constantino is now playing on the European Seniors Tour. He has five European Tour wins and is best known for his second-place finish in the 1995 Open Championship, and his hole in one in 1995 Ryder Cup.

Contents

Career outline

Rocca was born in Almenno San Bartolomeo, Bergamo. He started out as a caddie, winning the Italian Caddie Championship in 1978, and turned professional in 1981 at the age of 24.

In the 1980s, Rocca struggled to retain a European Tour card and made several trips to the Qualifying School. He began to make major strides in his career in 1990, which was the first season that he finished high enough on the Order of Merit to gain a tour card automatically. By 1993, he had risen to sixth in the Order of Merit, and his two best seasons were 1995 and 1996, when he finished fourth. He won five titles on the tour, the first of which was the 1993 Open de Lyon and the most prestigious of which was the 1996 Volvo PGA Championship.

In the final round of the 1995 Open Championship, Rocca sank a 60-foot (18-metre) putt on the 18th at St Andrews to make birdie and force a four-hole playoff with John Daly, but Daly won the playoff by four strokes. Rocca's second-highest finish in a major was a tie for fifth in the 1997 Masters Tournament; he was in the final pairing on Sunday, having begun the final round in second place, nine shots behind 21-year-old Tiger Woods, and he finished fifteen behind Woods.

Rocca was the first Italian to play for Europe in the Ryder Cup, and remained the only Italian to do so until 2010, when Francesco Molinari qualified for the Ryder Cup held in Celtic Manor and Edoardo Molinari was a captain's pick. He appeared in 1993, 1995 and 1997, and had a 6–5–0 win–loss–half record, including 1 win and 2 losses in singles matches. That one singles win came in a crucial match against Tiger Woods in the 1997 Ryder Cup at Valderrama, which Rocca won 4 & 2 to help Europe claim the cup. The victory against Woods was one of Woods' first losses in singles play. His 53% winning record in the Cup is one of the best in European team history. During the 1995 Ryder Cup, Rocca made a hole-in-one on Oak Hill's sixth hole, only the third ace in Ryder Cup history. In 1999, Rocca almost qualified for the Ryder Cup again after he won the West of Ireland Golf Classic.

The 2001 European Tour season was the last in which Rocca finished inside the top hundred on the Order of Merit, though the remained exempt through 2006 due to his 1996 Volvo PGA Championship win. He made his European Seniors Tour debut at the 2007 Sharp Italian Seniors Open, [3] and won his first senior tournament two weeks later at the Irish Seniors Open. He ended 2008 with a record seven top finishes and ranked ninth in the Order of Merit. His best placing was tied third in the Azores Senior Open. [4]

Rocca played his last European Tour event in 2015 at the Italian Open, an event he played in 33 times but never won.

Personal life

Rocca is married and has two children, Francesco and Chiara. [5]

In 2008, Rocca opened his own golf academy, the Costantino Rocca Golf Academy, at Golf Club Gerre Losone in Switzerland.

He is friends with golfing great Gary Player and plays in his Gary Player Invitational charity event to help raise money for underprivileged children around the world.

Professional wins (17)

European Tour wins (5)

Legend
Flagship events (1)
Other European Tour (4)
No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin of
victory		Runner(s)-up
14 Apr 1993 Open de Lyon −21 (67-71-66-63=267)6 strokes Flag of Sweden.svg Joakim Haeggman, Flag of Sweden.svg Gabriel Hjertstedt,
Flag of England.svg Barry Lane, Flag of Ireland.svg Paul McGinley
227 Jun 1993 Peugeot Open de France −11 (66-66-71-70=273)Playoff Flag of Ireland.svg Paul McGinley
327 May 1996 Volvo PGA Championship −14 (69-67-69-69=274)2 strokes Flag of England.svg Nick Faldo, Flag of Scotland.svg Paul Lawrie
47 Sep 1997 Canon European Masters −13 (71-69-70-65=275)1 stroke Flag of Scotland.svg Scott Henderson, Flag of Sweden.svg Robert Karlsson
515 Aug 1999 West of Ireland Golf Classic 1−12 (70-68-68-70=276)2 strokes Flag of Ireland.svg Pádraig Harrington

1Dual-ranking event with the Challenge Tour

European Tour playoff record (1–1)

No.YearTournamentOpponentResult
1 1993 Peugeot Open de France Flag of Ireland.svg Paul McGinley Won with bogey on first extra hole
2 1995 The Open Championship Flag of the United States.svg John Daly Lost four-hole aggregate playoff;
Daly: −1 (4-3-4-4=15),
Rocca: +3 (5-4-7-3=19)

Challenge Tour wins (2)

No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin of
victory		Runner-up
1 1989 Open Index Flag placeholder.svg
215 Aug 1999 West of Ireland Golf Classic 1−12 (70-68-68-70=276)2 strokes Flag of Ireland.svg Pádraig Harrington

1Dual-ranking event with the European Tour

Other wins (6)

European Seniors Tour wins (2)

Legend
Tour Championships (1)
Other European Seniors Tour (1)
No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin of
victory		Runner(s)-up
13 Jun 2007 AIB Irish Seniors Open −5 (69-71-71=211)2 strokes Flag of Spain.svg Juan Quirós, Flag of England.svg Kevin Spurgeon
210 Nov 2007 The Kingdom of Bahrain Trophy Seniors Tour Championship −10 (70-70-66=206)1 stroke Flag of England.svg Nick Job

European Seniors Tour playoff record (0–1)

No.YearTournamentOpponentResult
1 2007 European Senior Masters Flag of England.svg Carl Mason Lost to birdie on first extra hole

Other senior wins (3)

Playoff record

PGA Tour playoff record (0–1)

No.YearTournamentOpponentResult
1 1995 The Open Championship Flag of the United States.svg John Daly Lost four-hole aggregate playoff;
Daly: −1 (4-3-4-4=15),
Rocca: +3 (5-4-7-3=19)

PGA of Japan Tour playoff record (0–1)

No.YearTournamentOpponentsResult
1 1996 Sumitomo Visa Taiheiyo Masters Flag of the United States.svg Jeff Sluman, Flag of England.svg Lee Westwood Westwood won with par on fourth extra hole
Sluman eliminated by birdie on first hole

Results in major championships

Tournament199119921993199419951996199719981999
Masters Tournament T41CUTT5CUT
U.S. Open CUTT67CUT
The Open Championship T44T55CUTCUT2T64CUTT9T18
PGA Championship CUTT17T52T71CUT
  Top 10
  Did not play

CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied

Summary

TournamentWins2nd3rdTop-5Top-10Top-25EventsCuts made
Masters Tournament 00011142
U.S. Open 00000031
The Open Championship 01012396
PGA Championship 00000153
Totals0102352112

Results in The Players Championship

Tournament199619971998
The Players Championship CUTT43CUT

CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place

Team appearances

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pádraig Harrington</span> Irish professional golfer

Pádraig Peter Harrington is an Irish professional golfer who plays on the European Tour, PGA Tour and the PGA Tour Champions. He has won three major championships: The Open Championship in 2007 and 2008 and the PGA Championship, also in 2008. He spent over 300 weeks in the top-10 of the world rankings, and reached a career-high ranking of the third spot in July 2008. Harrington was a member of six consecutive Ryder Cup teams between 1999 and 2010. In 2024, he was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Justin Rose</span> South African-born English professional golfer (born 1980)

Justin Peter Rose, is an English professional golfer. Rose first achieved significant media attention when he finished fourth place at the 1998 Open Championship as an amateur. He turned pro the next day but struggled during his first few years as a professional, making few cuts. In the early 2000s, however, he had success, winning his first European Tour title in 2002 and ultimately leading the tour's Order of Merit in 2007. In the ensuing years, Rose focused primarily on the United States, winning a number of notable tournaments, culminating with a victory at the 2013 U.S. Open. Rose has continued with success since then, earning a gold medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics, finishing runner-up at the 2017 Masters, and reaching number one in the world for the first time in 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul McGinley</span> Irish professional golfer (born 1966)

Paul Noel McGinley is an Irish professional golfer who has won four events on the European Tour. At the 2002 Ryder Cup, he famously holed a ten-foot putt on the 18th hole in his match against Jim Furyk at The Belfry which won the Ryder Cup for Europe. He was the winning captain of Europe in the 2014 Ryder Cup and the first Irishman to captain Europe's Ryder Cup side.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Darren Clarke</span> Professional golfer

Darren Christopher Clarke, is a professional golfer from Northern Ireland who currently plays on the PGA Tour Champions and has previously played on the European Tour and PGA Tour. He has won 21 tournaments worldwide on a number of golf's main tours including the PGA Tour, European Tour, Japan Golf Tour and Sunshine Tour. His biggest victory came when he won the 2011 Open Championship at Royal St George's in England, his first major win after more than 20 years and 54 attempts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Corey Pavin</span> American professional golfer

Corey Allen Pavin is an American professional golfer. In 1982, Pavin turned professional but failed at PGA Tour Qualifying School. The following year, he turned to overseas where he had much success, winning South Africa's Lexington PGA and Europe's German Open. Later in the year he earned PGA Tour membership and had much success on tour, winning a number of events, culminating with the 1995 U.S. Open championship. Soon thereafter, he abruptly lost his game and was rarely a contender. As a senior, Pavin has played on the PGA Tour Champions, recording one win, at the Allianz Championship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Miguel Ángel Jiménez</span> Spanish professional golfer

Miguel Ángel Jiménez Rodríguez is a Spanish professional golfer. He has won 21 times on the European Tour, holds the records for the most starts on the European Tour and being the first player over 50 to win on the European Tour and has been a member of two victorious Ryder Cup teams.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Luke Donald</span> English professional golfer

Luke Campbell Donald MBE is an English professional golfer and former world number one. He plays mainly on the U.S.-based PGA Tour but is also a member of the European Tour.

This article summarizes the highlights of professional and amateur golf in the year 2005.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Broadhurst</span> English professional golfer

Paul Andrew Broadhurst is an English professional golfer. He won six times on the European Tour and played in the 1991 Ryder Cup. Since turning 50, he has had success in senior events, winning the 2016 Senior Open Championship and the 2018 Senior PGA Championship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sam Torrance</span> Scottish golfer

Samuel Robert Torrance is a Scottish professional golfer and sports commentator. He was one of the leading players on the European Tour from the mid-1970s to the late 1990s, with 21 Tour wins. Torrance was a member of European Ryder Cup teams on eight occasions consecutively; on Cup-winning teams four times. He was also part of the winning Scotland team at the 1995 Dunhill Cup. He was the winning non-playing captain of the European Ryder Cup team in 2002. Torrance was honoured with the MBE (1996) and OBE (2003), for his outstanding contributions to golf.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jean van de Velde (golfer)</span> French professional golfer (born 1966)

Jean van de Velde is a French professional golfer, who formerly played on the European Tour and the PGA Tour. He is best known for his runner-up finish at the 1999 Open Championship, where he lost a three-shot lead on the final hole.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Campbell</span> New Zealand golfer (born 1969)

Michael Shane Campbell is a New Zealand professional golfer who is best known for having won the 2005 U.S. Open and, at the time, the richest prize in golf, the £1,000,000 HSBC World Match Play Championship, in the same year. He played on the European Tour and the PGA Tour of Australasia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Antonio Garrido (golfer)</span> Spanish professional golfer (born 1944)

Antonio Garrido is a Spanish professional golfer. He won five times on the European Tour and twice on the European Senior Tour. He played in the 1979 Ryder Cup, the first Ryder Cup in which Continental European golfers were eligible to play.

This article summarizes the highlights of professional and amateur golf in the year 2006.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Francesco Molinari</span> Italian professional golfer

Francesco Molinari is an Italian professional golfer. He won the 2018 Open Championship, his first and only major victory, and the first major won by an Italian professional golfer. The Open Championship win capped a successful season in which he won the 2018 BMW PGA Championship, his fifth win on the European Tour, and the Quicken Loans National, his first PGA Tour win. At the end of the season, Molinari won 5 out of 5 points as Europe won the 2018 Ryder Cup.

This article summarizes the highlights of professional and amateur golf in the year 2007.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edoardo Molinari</span> Italian professional golfer

Edoardo Molinari is an Italian professional golfer who plays on the European Tour, where he is a three-time winner. He was also the 2005 U.S. Amateur champion; 2009 Challenge Tour Rankings leader; winner, with his brother Francesco, of the 2009 World Cup; and a member of the 2010 European Ryder Cup winning team. He has won professional tournaments on four of the six continents on which golf is played: Europe, South America, Africa and Asia. He is a Vice-Captain for the 2023 Ryder Cup in Marco Simone, Italy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Martin Kaymer</span> German professional golfer

Martin Kaymer is a German professional golfer who currently plays on the LIV Golf League. A winner of two major championships, he was also the No. 1 ranked golfer in the Official World Golf Ranking for eight weeks in 2011.

American professional golfer Tiger Woods has enjoyed one of the most successful golfing careers of all time. After competing in amateur events since he was a toddler and representing Stanford University on a golf scholarship, Woods left college after two years to turn professional at the age of 20.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tony Finau</span> American professional golfer (born 1989)

Milton Pouha "Tony" Finau is an American professional golfer who currently plays on the PGA Tour.

References

  1. ↑ "Week 21 1996 Ending 26 May 1996" (pdf). OWGR . Retrieved 4 October 2019.
  2. ↑ "Francesco Molinari recalls fellow Italian Costantino Rocca facing Tiger ahead of final pairing at 2019 Masters". Golf Channel. 14 April 2019. Retrieved 2 January 2020.
  3. ↑ "Rocca debuts in the Sharp Italian Seniors Open". European Tour. 14 May 2007. Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 15 May 2007.
  4. ↑ "Costantino Rocca – Results – 2008". European Tour.
  5. ↑ Vonaesch, Franziska. "Costantino Rocca: "Golf Is Good Training for Life"". Archived from the original on 8 July 2012. Retrieved 7 November 2009.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.