Benedetta Moresco’s tournament history is diverse. Type her name into the World Amateur Golf Rankings and the hit produces a list of tournament starts in which a U.S. flag appears only once, to indicate Moresco’s turn on the European Junior Solheim Cup team for last fall’s matches in Scotland.
This week’s Annika Invitational USA was both Moresco’s first competitive start in the U.S. and her first win. It’s significant considering that she relied on a tip from tournament host Annika Sorenstam during a weekend clinic to make up for inexperience on Bermudagrass.
Moresco went 4 under at World Golf Village’s Slammer & Squire course in St. Augustine, Florida, edging runner-up Sadie Englemann (a 2020 classmate) by two shots. She played the front nine of the final round in even par – three birdies, three bogeys – but felt she really had a leg up on Englemann by the time she cleared the par-5 16th with a birdie to reach 1 under on the back.
Leaderboard: Annika Invitational USA
For as much inexperience as she has on thick Bermuda, wind that kicked up on the final day worked to her advantage.
“I quite like playing in the wind,” Moresco said. “I prefer wind instead of rain. I was kind of confident today even though the wind was blowing high.”
She arrived two days early in St. Augustine and devoted her practice rounds to practicing touch shots around the green. By the first round of the tournament, she felt relatively confident and posted 1-under 71, the sixth-best score of the day.
Sorenstam typically hosts a clinic during this event, which happened after the second round. She focused on short game and Moresco listened carefully.
“I learned that you have to swing with the bounce and let the club do the work,” Moresco said. “I was hitting it harder and with a negative angle but then I understand I have to use more bounce and let the grass help and the club swing through.”
St. Augustine is a long way from Moresco’s home in Caldogno, Vicenza, Italy. Her favorite course, however, is in France – Saint-Cloud Golf Club near Paris. You can see the Eiffel Tower from the 17th hole.
Playing around Europe, particularly on her home course in Italy, has reigned in Moresco’s tee ball.
“I grew up on a narrow course,” she said. “Here it’s different because the fairways are a little bit wide open and the driver was really good today and the whole week.”
For proof of the girls golf empire that Sorenstam has built, look no further than Moresco. After four starts at the Annika Invitational Europe (she finished in the top 5 last year), Moresco decided to play the U.S. event for the first time. She became the first Italian champion. This was also her first AJGA start.
Moresco was headed back to Italy after a long holiday weekend in Florida. The Italian player has competed all over Europe in the past two years, winning twice in Italian “under 18” events. In a few months, she’ll be back to play the Augusta National Women’s Amateur for the first time. At No. 24 in the world, she easily earned an invitation – and one that prompted lots of screaming when it arrived in the mail.
Moresco’s older sister Angelica, a junior at the University of Alabama (ranked No. 72 in the world) will make the five-hour drive from Tuscaloosa that week to watch Benedetta compete. Next fall, Angelica will likely help ease the college transition for little sis, who has signed to play for the Crimson Tide, too.
“It’s exciting because I really want this experience and every time I look on the calendar and see that days are coming,” Benedetta said. “I’m kind of nervous but I’m really, really happy and I really can’t wait.”
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