“Vecchio anima” is an Italian phrase that roughly translates to “old soul.” It describes a person who is wise beyond his or her years, but it goes further than that. The term is used for someone who is so calm and balanced that it seems like he or she has lived a previous life.

“Vecchio anima” is a perfect description of Matteo Manassero.

Along with Francisco and Eduardo Molinari, Manassero is authoring a new and glorious era of Italian golf. At the age of 20, Manassero is arguably the most accomplished young player in modern European golf history. He has won four times on the European Tour, including his most recent victory at the 2013 BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth, which is considered to be the most prestigious event on the European calendar other than The Open Championship.

“I’m feeling unbelievable, really emotional. I’ve always felt something really special about this place and this week,” Manassero said. “I managed to play well and managed to stay in contention. I’m the happiest man in the world right now.”

Manassero’s victory added to a sterling resume that includes an impressive list of “youngests.” He is the youngest winner of the British Amateur Championship, capturing the title in 2009 at 16. That win qualified him to play in the 2009 British Open Championship at Turnberry, where he was paired with Tom Watson for the first two days of Watson’s amazing run at a sixth Claret Jug. Manassero handled the whirlwind of media and fan attention surrounding Watson like a seasoned pro, quietly making a little magic of his own by finishing T-13 and winning the coveted Silver Medal as the low amateur. Manassero achieved the No. 1-ranking among world amateurs in December 2009 and stayed there until he turned pro four months later.

In 2010, Manassero became the youngest player to make the cut at the Masters at the age of 16 years and 11 months, beating a record that has stood for 43 years. Of course Manassero’s record did not endure nearly so long as the previous one, as Guan Tianlang broke it this year at the embryonic age of 14 years and 5 months.

In October 2010, Manassero won the Castelló Masters in Valencia, Spain to become the youngest ever winner on the European Tour. And when he won the 2012 Barclays Singapore Open, he became the first European player to secure three wins as a teenager.

Manassero has limited experience and success on the PGA Tour, having played on 18 events, missing four cuts and notching just one top-10 finish. But he has shown that he has the game to compete on the game’s biggest stages.

Standing just under 6-feet tall and weighing in at 155 pounds, he still has some growing up to do physically. But mentally, Manassero is a full-grown man who seems to be most comfortable in pressure situations. Two of his wins have come in playoffs with older, more accomplished players. Manassero has a solid game tee to green, combined with a dash of Seve Ballesteros that seems to flavor every continental player’s game. In fact, Manassero is a great devotee of the late, great Seve and even had the opportunity to play with him as a boy. But his most outstanding quality is his ability to quiet both the inner and outer noise that jangles the nerves in competition. Manassero sees the objective, makes a plan and executes what needs to be done.

It is almost inevitable that like McIlroy, Westwood, Poulter and others, Manassero will eventually migrate across the Atlantic and join the PGA Tour. In the meantime, U.S. fans will get a look at him close up at him the 2013 U.S. Open, as Manassero’s BMW Championship victory qualified him for the field at Merion next month. It is a course where another British Amateur champion named Bobby Jones won twice. Fans not familiar with Manassero will be pleased by the control that he has over the golf ball and over himself. If he is on the leaderboard on Sunday, he has both the game and the nerve to pull off one of the most surprising victories in major championship history. But don’t be surprised if Manassero is not overwhelmed by it all.

For Manassero, a true vecchio anima, it may seem like he’s been there before.