Michele Reale
Encyclopedia
Michele Reale is an Italian
professional golf
er.
Reale was born in Biella
, Piedmont
. Having won the Italian PGA Championship and the Italian Under 20 Championship as an amateur in 1991, he turned professional
the following year.
Reale played in three tournaments on the second tier European Challenge Tour
in 1992, before making his first attempt at qualifying for the top level European Tour
. He got through to the final stage of qualifying school
, but had to settle for a place on the second tier for 1993. He failed to graduate through qualifying school in each of the next four years, but his performances on the Challenge Tour steadily improved, culminating in 1997 when he won twice on his way to the top of the rankings, and a place on the European Tour for 1998.
Unfortunately, during his rookie season on the European Tour, Reale contracted measles
, and wound up back at qualifying school at the end of the year. This time he was successful, but in 1999 again enjoyed a fruitless season at the highest level, and returned to the Challenge Tour for 2000. He finished that season in 5th place on the rankings, to gain promotion back to the European Tour. He has since spent most of his career on the Challenge Tour, visiting qualifying school every year, with success in 2001 and 2005, but has failed to improve on his début showing of 120th on the European Tour Order of Merit.
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
professional golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
er.
Reale was born in Biella
Biella
Biella is a town and comune in the northern Italian region of Piemonte, the capital of the province of the same name, with some 45,800 inhabitants as of 2009. It is located about 80 km northeast of Turin and about 80 km west-northwest of Milan.It lies in the foothills of the Alps,...
, Piedmont
Piedmont
Piedmont is one of the 20 regions of Italy. It has an area of 25,402 square kilometres and a population of about 4.4 million. The capital of Piedmont is Turin. The main local language is Piedmontese. Occitan is also spoken by a minority in the Occitan Valleys situated in the Provinces of...
. Having won the Italian PGA Championship and the Italian Under 20 Championship as an amateur in 1991, he turned professional
Professional golfer
In golf the distinction between amateurs and professionals is rigorously maintained. An amateur who breaches the rules of amateur status may lose his or her amateur status. A golfer who has lost his or her amateur status may not play in amateur competitions until amateur status has been reinstated;...
the following year.
Reale played in three tournaments on the second tier European Challenge Tour
Challenge Tour
The Challenge Tour is the second tier men's professional golf tour in Europe. It is operated by the PGA European Tour and as with on the main European Tour and the European Seniors Tour, some of the events are played outside of Europe...
in 1992, before making his first attempt at qualifying for the top level European Tour
PGA European Tour
The PGA European Tour is an organization which operates the three leading men's professional golf tours in Europe: the elite European Tour, the European Seniors Tour and the developmental Challenge Tour. Its headquarters are at Wentworth Club in Virginia Water, Surrey, England...
. He got through to the final stage of qualifying school
Qualifying school
In professional golf the term qualifying school is used for the annual qualifying tournaments for leading golf tours such as the U.S. based PGA and LPGA Tours and the European Tour. A fixed number of players in the event win membership of the tour for the following season, otherwise known as a...
, but had to settle for a place on the second tier for 1993. He failed to graduate through qualifying school in each of the next four years, but his performances on the Challenge Tour steadily improved, culminating in 1997 when he won twice on his way to the top of the rankings, and a place on the European Tour for 1998.
Unfortunately, during his rookie season on the European Tour, Reale contracted measles
Measles
Measles, also known as rubeola or morbilli, is an infection of the respiratory system caused by a virus, specifically a paramyxovirus of the genus Morbillivirus. Morbilliviruses, like other paramyxoviruses, are enveloped, single-stranded, negative-sense RNA viruses...
, and wound up back at qualifying school at the end of the year. This time he was successful, but in 1999 again enjoyed a fruitless season at the highest level, and returned to the Challenge Tour for 2000. He finished that season in 5th place on the rankings, to gain promotion back to the European Tour. He has since spent most of his career on the Challenge Tour, visiting qualifying school every year, with success in 2001 and 2005, but has failed to improve on his début showing of 120th on the European Tour Order of Merit.
Other wins (4)
- 1991 Italian PGA Championship, Italian Under 20 Championship (both as an amateur)
- 1992 Italian Professional Championship
- 1994 Italian Under 25 Championship