Who's who: Costantino Rocca

  • Nairn GC.jpg
  • Prince's GC, England
  • Peterhead GC
  • 30bb297e-e7f4-4990-93c9-b8c1e64fdd82.JPG
  • Littlestone GC
  • Brora GC
  • Cabot Highlands - Castel Stuart course
  • Torrey Pines - South Course 1

Who's who: Costantino Rocca

  • Name:

    Costantino Rocca
  • Country:

    Italy
  • Born:

    Dec 4, 1956 in Almenno San Bartolomeo, Bergamo Province, Lombardy, Italy.
  • Original/Home Club:

    Bergamo "L'Albenza" GC
  • Occupation:

    Professional golfer
  • Turned Pro:

    1981

Roll of Honour

Ryder Cup player (1993, '95, '97). Multiple wins on the European Tour (5) and European Senior Tr, plus several other wins in Italy. European Senior Tour Rookie of the Year (2007).

Did you know?

Rocca, one of the best Italian golfers of the modern era, was a 'fan favourite' on the European Tour in the 1990s. He claimed five wins during his time on the Tour, before moving onto the European Senior Tour in 2007.

Most memorably, Rocca sank a 60 foot putt on the final hole in the 1995 Open Championship at St Andrews. This joyously celebrated putt, played through the infamous 'Valley of Sin,' swept him into a playoff against America's John Daly. Of these two charismatic golfers, it was Daly who prevailed by four shots in the four-hole playoff.

Top tournaments won by Costantino Rocca

Category

Europe

Winner (holder)

Rocca, Costantino

Score

206 (-10)

Prize money

€55,618

Title sponsor

x

Played as the Kingdom of Bahrain Trophy - Seniors Tour Championship (Nov 8-10; European Senior Tour season-ending event). Second-placed Nick Job (Eng) finished one shot behind Costantino Rocca (Italy), who recorded the second of his two wins on the Tour. [Buckinghamshire GC, Denham, Bucks].

2007
Europe
211 (-5)
€67,500
AIB

Category

Europe

Winner (holder)

Rocca, Costantino

Score

211 (-5)

Prize money

€67,500

Title sponsor

AIB

Played as the AIB Irish Seniors Open in association with Greenstar & Fáilte Ireland (June 1-3). Second-placed Juan Quirós (Esp) and Kevin Spurgeon (Eng) finished 2 shots behind 50-year-old Costantino Rocca (Italy), who recorded his first European Senior Tour win. [Palmerston House GC, Johnstown, Co. Kildare - at the time known as PGA Natl Ireland].

2007
Awards
€277,783
see Score
Hardy's

Category

Awards

Winner (holder)

Rocca, Costantino

Venue

Score

€277,783

Prize money

see Score

Title sponsor

Hardy's

Rocca (Italy) won the Eurpn Snr Tr 2007 Hardy's Rookie of the Year Award as the leading first-season player. He finished second on the Tour's Order of Merit, with earnings of €277,783.

Category

Europe

Winner (holder)

Rocca, Costantino

Score

276 (-12)

Prize money

€58,330

Title sponsor

x

Played as the West of Ireland Golf Classic (Aug 12-15). Second-placed Pádraig Harrington (Ire) finished 2 shots behind Rocca (Italy), who recorded the last of his five European Tour wins. [Galway Bay G&CC, Co.Galway, Ireland].

1997
Europe
266 (-18)
£133,330
Canon

Category

Europe

Winner (holder)

Rocca, Costantino

Score

266 (-18)

Prize money

£133,330

Title sponsor

Canon

Played as the Canon European Masters (combined with the Swiss Open). Second-placed Scott Henderson (Scot) and Robert Karlsson (Swe) finished 1 shot behind Rocca (Ita). [GC Crans-sur-Sierre, Crans-Montana, Switzerland].

1996
Europe
274 (-14)
£166,660
Volvo

Category

Europe

Winner (holder)

Rocca, Costantino

Score

274 (-14)

Prize money

£166,660

Title sponsor

Volvo

Played as the Volvo PGA Championship (May 24-27). Second-placed Nick Faldo (Eng) and Paul Lawrie (Scot) finished 2 shots behind Rocca (Italy), who recorded four sub-70 rounds to become the first Italian to win the PGA Championship. [West course, Wentworth Club, Virginia Water, Surrey].

1993
Europe
267 (-21)
£41,660
x

Category

Europe

Winner (holder)

Rocca, Costantino

Score

267 (-21)

Prize money

£41,660

Title sponsor

x

Played as the Open de Lyon (April 1-4). Second-placed Gabriel Hjertstedt (Swe), Joakim Haeggman (Swe), Barry Lane (Eng) and Paul McGinley (Ire) finished 6 shots behind first-time European Tour winner Rocca (Italy). [Sangliers course, Lyon GC, Villette d'Anthon, nr Lyon].

1993
Europe
273 (-11)
£83,330
Peugeot

Category

Europe

Winner (holder)

Rocca, Costantino

Score

273 (-11)

Prize money

£83,330

Title sponsor

Peugeot

Played as the Peugeot Open de France. Rocca (Italy) beat Paul McGinley (Ire) at the first playoff hole. [Albatros course, Golf National, Guyancourt, nr Paris].

Find a course

Or

Tournaments

124th US Open: the No.2 Course at Pinehurst once again plays host to this most illustrious championship (June 13-16). Wyndham Clark defends his title, having won at Los Angeles CC in 2023.

79th Women’s US Open: the second women’s major championship of the season gets underway at Lancaster CC in Pennsylvania. It’s the second time the championship has been held here.
(May 30-June 2).

Who's Who

Nelly Korda: won the Mizuho Americas Open (May 16-19) at Liberty National GC, continuing her extraordinary form in LPGA events. This was her sixth win in seven starts in 2024.

Xander Schauffele: recorded his first major championship win, and second record-equalling low score of 62 in a major. Only he, Branden Grace, Rickie Fowler and Shane Lowry have achieved this feat in a men’s major championship.

Marco Simone Golf & Country Club

Marco Simone Golf & Country Club: With a clubhouse that might befit a Roman Emperor, and a golf course to match, you can be sure of a memorable outing at Rome's most talked about golf facility.

Jim Fazio's original layout was much changed to create a modern Ryder Cup course ... now one of the Eternal City's (and Italy's) most revered.

Prince's Golf Club, Kent (UK)

Here at Prince’s Golf Club you'll find 27 excellent holes of links golf. Just over the fence and sharing similar terrain is Royal St George’s; but Prince’s is far from overshadowed by its venerable neighbour. The three nine-hole loops at Prince's, laid out over gently undulating terrain, are sure to bring a smile of satisfaction to all lovers of links golf.

Stay&Play at Prince's: excellent onsite Lodge accommodation available

Popular videos

You can subscribe to the Where2Golf channel on YT if you like to see more video content. You'll find a "Subscribe" button on any of our YouTube videos. Or if you want a quick and direct access subscribe here. Once done, any new published videos will show up in your Subscriptions feed.

Whistling Straits (Wisconsin, US)

Hamburger GC - Falkenstein, Germany

Littlestone Golf Club (Kent, UK)