Staff WriterJhared Hack opened the Italian Challenge Open as though someone had handed him the course map, the pin sheet and the keys to Golf Nazionale. The American produced a bogey-free ten under par 62 on Thursday to take a four-shot lead after a first day that turned into something of a birdie buffet.
This was not a cautious toe in the HotelPlanner Tour water. This was Hack walking straight into his third start on the circuit and ordering the full tasting menu.
Ten birdies. No bogeys. Very little fuss.
A Flawless Start At Golf Nazionale
Hack arrived in Italy with form rather than noise behind him. He had earned his place in the field by finishing tied second at the DP World PGTI Open in India, then spent six weeks away before returning with the sort of scorecard that makes playing partners check whether they are using the same tees.
He was six under at the turn after mixing six birdies with three pars on the front nine. That outward 30 gave him early command, but the real polish came on the back nine, where he added birdies at the 13th, 14th and 15th before picking up another at the last.
“I got off to a nice start, I think six under at the turn,” Hack said.
“I kept hitting the right spots on the greens, I hit some nice wedges, I drove it in the fairways. I just kept doing what I needed to do, and I executed it properly which was nice.
“I made a few nice putts on the back, a 20-footer and a 25-footer. It’s nice to have those, I think you need a couple of nice putts to go in in a round like this.”
There it is: fairways, wedges, putts. Golf’s grand mystery reduced to three blunt instruments and a man using them properly.
The Round That Moved The Field
Low scoring was available at Golf Nazionale, but available and acquired are not the same thing. Plenty of players found chances. Hack found nearly all of them.
The decisive stretch came after the turn. A front-nine 30 can be both a blessing and a nuisance; it announces opportunity, then quietly asks whether you have the nerve to keep going. Hack did. His three-birdie burst from 13 to 15 took the round from excellent to field-bending, and the closing birdie gave the leaderboard a very different complexion.
At ten under par, Hack sits four clear of the chasing group. That is not a tournament-winning lead on Thursday, of course, but it is enough to make everyone else spend Friday playing with one eye on a number already painted in red.
Chasing Pack Keeps The Heat On
Behind Hack, Portugal’s Pedro Figueiredo, Austria’s Matthias Schwab, Spain’s Javier Roman Calles, France’s Pierre Pineau and Italy’s Flavio Michetti share second place at six under par.
It is a useful group. Figueiredo has the pedigree, Schwab brings experience, Roman Calles and Pineau add continental bite, and Michetti gives the home galleries a local name to follow. Nobody has won anything yet, but the Italian Challenge Open already has a proper chase forming.
A further shot back sits a group of eleven players at five under, including English trio Barclay Brown, Charlie Thornton and Alfie Plant. That cluster will fancy its chances if Golf Nazionale continues to give up birdies, though the danger with a round like Hack’s is psychological as much as mathematical. Four shots can feel like eight when the leader looks as if he is playing from the middle of every fairway.
Hack’s Road To Mallorca Push Gains Shape
Hack’s wider form makes this opening round more than a one-day ambush. The 36-year-old from Las Vegas has impressed on the DP World Professional Golf Tour of India this year after winning Q-School, claiming victory in the opening event of the season and recording a top ten in all of his starts.
That matters. The Road to Mallorca rewards consistency as much as fireworks, and Hack has arrived with both in his luggage.
“I told my caddy on the second green that someone would shoot low today and he said why not me,” he added.
“I’m going to look at this as a journey so I’m just going to go out tomorrow and try and do the same stuff I’ve been doing, try to keep present, keep my process and routine.
“It’s definitely nice to have a start like this. Hopefully I get to talk to you guys more this week.”
That last line may prove prophetic. Shoot 62, lead by four, keep the bogeys off the card, and the microphones tend to find you with all the persistence of a wasp at lunch.
Friday Brings The Real Test
The second round of the Italian Challenge Open begins on Friday morning at 7:30 am, with Hack teeing off at 2:45 pm alongside Switzerland’s Maximilien Sturdza and Scotland’s Will Porter.
That afternoon tee time brings a different examination. Conditions may shift. Greens may firm. The scoreboard will have had time to breathe, and the chasers will have had time to move.
But for now, Hack owns the opening act at Golf Nazionale. A ten-birdie 62 is not merely a good start; it is a statement delivered without shouting. The rest of the field has three rounds to answer it.
