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Francesco Molinari Secures Dramatic Home Triumph in Italy

By: Golfshake Editor | Mon 19 Sep 2016


Post by Sports Writer Derek Clements


WITH a perfect sense of timing and theatre, Francesco Molinari produced one of the best shots of his life at the final hole to send a huge home crowd into ecstasy as he claimed the Italian Open from Danny Willett in the most dramatic of fashion.

Molinari hit his final drive way right into trees and, with no margin for error, produced a low slice that found the front of the green. Willett had hit a dreadful drive and had to play 130 yards of the green. The Masters champion hit his third to 20 feet and after watching Molinari leave his first putt fully four feet short, Willett holed his for a most unlikely par. It meant that Molinari had to make his four-footer to win by a single shot. He has a dodgy reputation with putts of this length but knocked the ball into the heart of the hole to send the crowd wild.

He finished on 22 under par at the Golf Club Milano, a four-round total of 262.

Molinari has been plying his trade on the PGA Tour for much of this season without making much of an impact. His world ranking had slipped back to 65 but winning his national open takes him back into the world's top 50 and secures his place in all the tournaments that count but in the immediate aftermath of his victory that meant nothing to the Italian. It is the second time he has won the Italian Open but this one meant more to him if only because he has been struggling to find his best form. He also becomes the first home player to win the tournament twice.

He began the final round level with Willett and the pair of them went at it like a pair of heavyweights, with Molinari opening his round with an eagle three and following it with a birdie at the second. Another one disappeared at the sixth before he nearly holed an eagle chip at the ninth. A great tee shot at the par-three 12th set up another birdie and in went the six-foot putt. But he missed a tiddler at the next and dropped a shot - Willett birdied the same hole and a two-shot swing meant it was anybody's tournament.

However, Molinari bounced straight back with a birdie at the 14th, although Willett made up further ground with an eagle on the par five.

The Italian had to return to the course early in the morning to complete his third round and finished with a 64 before completing perfect day with a 65. What a weekend for the Italian - next to a major, this is the tournament he most wanted to win. He becomes the second man in successive weeks to win his national open after Joost Luiten did the same thing in Holland.

"It has been a rollercoaster and it was amazing to have all those people supporting me," Molinari said after securing his fourth European Tour title. "I made a great start but towards the end of the day I had nothing left and was playing some horrible shots. I relaxed after my birdie at the 12th, and that was a mistake. In the end, it was just guts and my short game that got me through it. Everybody has been praising me for my long game but it just wasn't there over the last four or five holes. I am delighted to have give the Italian fans something to celebrate."

Willett, who closed out the tournament with a 66, will be thrilled to have found his best with the Ryder Cup just around the corner. Seven members of Darren Clarke's team were in the field and with the exception of Lee Westwood, who missed the cut, the others all played very well.

Chris Paisley, of England, secured his card for another season after finishing in tie for third with Spain's Nacho Elvira on 18 under. And Richard Bland continued his rich vein of form with a final round of 69 seeing him tie with David Horsey in fifth place.

Web.com Tour

Meanwhile on the Web.com Tour, the fairytale continues for Andrew "Beef" Johnson. The big Englishman who has become everybody's favourite player in 2016 decided to head off to the United States and see if he could earn one of the 25 PGA Tour cards available for the chosen few.

He began the Albertsons Boise Open at Hillcrest Country Club at Boise in Indiana in 23rd place in the standings, opened with rounds of 66 and 63 and although he struggled to a 70 in the third round, he battled back with a final round of 68. It saw him finish in fifth place on 17 under par and takes him to sixth place in the standings, so it looks like we will be watching him make a huge impression in the USA next season, where he has already won a place in the hearts of the fans. It is a remarkable achievement for a man who was playing on the Challenge Tour in 2015 and transformed his life and career by winning the Spanish Open and then contending in The Open Championship.

The tournament was won by Michael Thompson, of the USA, on 23 under.

 


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Tags: Willett ryder cup Molinari european tour Beef



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