Francesco Molinari

Francesco Molinari (born 8 November 1982) is an Italian professional golfer. He won the 2018 Open Championship, his first and only major victory, and the first major won by an Italian professional golfer.[2] The Open Championship win capped a successful season in which he won the 2018 BMW PGA Championship, his sixth win on the European Tour, and the Quicken Loans National, his first PGA Tour win. At the end of the season, Molinari won 5 out of 5 points as Europe won the 2018 Ryder Cup.

This article is about the golfer. For the opera conductor, see Francesco Molinari-Pradelli.
Francesco Molinari
Personal information
Full nameFrancesco Molinari
Born (1982-11-08) 8 November 1982
Turin, Italy
Height1.72 m (5 ft 8 in)
Weight72 kg (159 lb; 11.3 st)
Nationality Italy
ResidenceTurin, Italy
London, United Kingdom
SpouseValentina (m. 2007)
ChildrenTommaso, Emma
Career
CollegeUniversity of Turin
Turned professional2004
Current tour(s)European Tour
PGA Tour
Professional wins10
Highest ranking5 (9 September 2018)[1]
(as of 31 January 2021)
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour3
European Tour6
Other2
Best results in major championships
(wins: 1)
Masters TournamentT5: 2019
PGA ChampionshipT2: 2017
U.S. OpenT16: 2019
The Open ChampionshipWon: 2018
Achievements and awards
Race to Dubai Champion2018
European Tour
Golfer of the Year		2018

Molinari has been in the top 100 of the World Rankings continuously since the end of 2008. Playing with his brother Edoardo, they won the 2009 Omega Mission Hills World Cup, Italy's only win in the event. Molinari won the 2010 WGC-HSBC Champions and has represented Europe in three winning Ryder Cup teams, in 2010, 2012 and 2018.

Background and amateur career

Molinari was born in Turin, Italy, and is the younger brother of Edoardo Molinari. As an amateur, he won the Italian Amateur Stroke Play Championship twice, and the Italian Match Play Championship in 2004. He turned professional later that year.

Professional career

Molinari earned his European Tour card for 2005 through qualifying school. He finished in 86th place on the tour's Order of Merit in his rookie season.

In May 2006, Molinari claimed his first European Tour victory, becoming the first Italian since Massimo Mannelli in 1980 to win the Telecom Italia Open.[3] This victory helped him finish 38th on the Order of Merit. Molinari didn't win on Tour between 2007 and 2009 but during that time he recorded twenty top-10 finishes including three runner-up finishes. He finished 60th on the Order of Merit in 2007, 24th in 2008 and 14th in the Race to Dubai in 2009. In October 2009, Molinari reached the top 50 of the Official World Golf Ranking for the first time.

On 29 November 2009, Molinari, along with his older brother Edoardo, led Italy to their first World Cup victory at the Omega Mission Hills World Cup in China.[4]

On 7 November 2010, Molinari won the WGC-HSBC Champions in Shanghai, China. He defeated Lee Westwood by one stroke, finishing at 19-under par.[5] The win moved him into 14th in the Official World Golf Ranking, his highest ranking for eight years. He also recorded eleven top-10 finishes including two runner-up finishes en route to a 5th-place finish in the Race to Dubai.

In October 2010, he represented Europe in the 2010 Ryder Cup which took place at Celtic Manor Resort, teaming up with his brother Edoardo in the four-balls (halved against Stuart Cink and Matt Kuchar) and foursomes (lost against Zach Johnson and Hunter Mahan). He then lost the singles match by 4 and 3 against Tiger Woods on the final day. Europe defeated the United States 14½–13½.

Molinari had a steady 2011 without any further victories but did record seven top-10 finishes, including a 3rd place at the WGC-Cadillac Championship. He finished the year ranked 21st in the Race to Dubai.

Molinari at the 2013 Open de France
Molinari at the 2015 Open de France

Molinari picked up his third win on the European Tour on 6 May 2012 at the Reale Seguros Open de España. He was four strokes out of the lead going into the final round but fired a 65 (−7), the best round of the tournament, to win by three strokes over Alejandro Cañizares, Søren Kjeldsen and Pablo Larrazábal.[6] In July 2012, the week before the Open Championship, Molinari lost in a playoff at the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open. He was defeated on the first playoff hole by Jeev Milkha Singh.

Molinari gained an automatic selection for the 2012 Ryder Cup, where he played the foursomes with Lee Westwood on Friday, losing by 3 and 2 to Jason Dufner and Zach Johnson; he then teamed up in the four-balls with Justin Rose, losing by 5 and 4 against Bubba Watson and Webb Simpson. On the final day, he halved with Tiger Woods in the last singles match. The point meant Europe not only completed a comeback from 10–6 down at the start of the final day to retain the cup, but won it outright by a score of 14½ points to 13½.[7]

During the 2013 and 2014 seasons Molinari didn't register any win, but his steady position in the top fifty of the OWGR allowed him to play several PGA Tour events as a non-member, where he reached three top ten finishes; among these the most prestigious result was the 6th place at the 2014 Players Championship. These results allowed him to earn a full PGA Tour card for the 2014–15 season.

In 2015 and 2016 Molinari shared his time between the European Tour and PGA Tour. In September 2016 he became the first Italian to win his national open twice with a 1 shot victory over Danny Willett at the 2016 Italian Open. Other notable results in Europe were the 2nd places collected at the 2015 Open de España and 2016 Open de France, while in the U.S. he collected a 3rd place at the 2015 Memorial Tournament. In the same year he also recorded a hole in one at the iconic 16th hole of the Waste Management Phoenix Open.[8]

Molinari recorded his fifth European Tour win and first Rolex Series titles in May 2018, with victory in the European Tour's flagship event, the BMW PGA Championship. He produced a flawless final round to see off Rory McIlroy by two strokes. The win took Molinari level with Costantino Rocca, for most European Tour wins by an Italian. In the same year, Molinari won the Quicken Loans National in a dominating fashion by shooting a 62 on Sunday to win by eight strokes, the first PGA Tour win for an Italian since 1947.

At the 2018 Open Championship, Molinari won the tournament with a score of −8, pairing with Tiger Woods in the final round.[2] The win at the Open Championship moved him to sixth place in the Official World Golf Ranking, the highest ranking of his career to date.[9]

In September 2018, Molinari qualified for the European team participating in the 2018 Ryder Cup. Europe defeated the U.S. team 17 1/2 to 10 1/2. Molinari became the first player ever to go 5-0-0. He famously paired with Tommy Fleetwood to win all four fourball and foursome matches. He also won his singles match against Phil Mickelson.[10]

On 18 November 2018, Molinari won the season-long Race to Dubai title on the European Tour.[11] The victory was worth $1,250,000.[12]

On 16 December 2018, he received the 2018 BBC World Sport Star of the Year award (formerly known as the BBC Overseas Sports Personality of the Year award), Molinari was the first Italian to receive this prize.

On 10 March 2019, Molinari won the Arnold Palmer Invitational for his third PGA Tour victory of his career. He teed off 10 groups ahead of the leaders on the final day and 5 stokes behind, making three birdies and no bogeys on his first seven holes. On the 8th hole, from well off the green he holed a chip for another birdie and made the turn in 32 (−4). He made four more birdies on the back nine, including a 43-foot putt at the 72nd hole, to shoot a final-round 64 that ended up giving him a two-stroke win over Matthew Fitzpatrick, who shot a final-round 71.[13]

In April 2019, Molinari was the 54-hole leader at the Masters at 13 under, two strokes clear of Tony Finau and Tiger Woods, after a six-under-par 66 third round. Molinari held the lead for two thirds of the final round, until he reached the par-3 12th, where his tee shot found the water, resulting in a double bogey. He found the water again on the 15th, which led to another double bogey to fall out of contention. He finished with a round of 74 and T5 finish, still his best performance at the Masters to date.

Coaches

Molinari has worked since 2018 with Dave Alred on several mental aspects of his game.[14][15]

Personal life

Molinari is a fan of Italian football team Internazionale,[16] he also supports West Ham United after Italian football manager Gianfranco Zola started managing the East London side in 2008.[17]

Charity

Molinari is an ambassador for Borne, a medical research charity looking to identify the causes of premature birth.[18]

Amateur wins (5)
  • 2002 Italian Amateur Stroke Play Championship, Italian Amateur Foursomes Championship (with Edoardo Molinari)
  • 2004 Italian Amateur Stroke Play Championship, Italian Match Play Championship, Sherry Cup (ESP)

Professional wins (10)

PGA Tour wins (3)
Legend
Major championships (1)
Other PGA Tour (2)
No. Date Tournament Winning score To par Margin of
victory		 Runner(s)-up
1 1 Jul 2018 Quicken Loans National 67-65-65-62=259 −21 8 strokes Ryan Armour
2 22 Jul 2018 The Open Championship 70-72-65-69=276 −8 2 strokes Kevin Kisner, Rory McIlroy,
Justin Rose, Xander Schauffele
3 10 Mar 2019 Arnold Palmer Invitational 69-70-73-64=276 −12 2 strokes Matthew Fitzpatrick

European Tour wins (6)
Legend
Major championships (1)
World Golf Championships (1)
BMW PGA Championships (1)
Rolex Series (1)
Other European Tour (3)
No. Date Tournament Winning score To par Margin of
victory		 Runner(s)-up
1 7 May 2006 Telecom Italia Open 68-65-67-65=265 −23 4 strokes Anders Hansen, Jarmo Sandelin
2 7 Nov 2010 WGC-HSBC Champions[lower-alpha 1] 65-70-67-67=269 −19 1 stroke Lee Westwood
3 6 May 2012 Reale Seguros Open de España 70-71-74-65=280 −8 3 strokes Alejandro Cañizares, Søren Kjeldsen,
Pablo Larrazábal
4 18 Sep 2016 Italian Open (2) 65-68-64-65=262 −22 1 stroke Danny Willett
5 27 May 2018 BMW PGA Championship 70-67-66-68=271 −17 2 strokes Rory McIlroy
6 22 Jul 2018 The Open Championship 70-72-65-69=276 −8 2 strokes Kevin Kisner, Rory McIlroy,
Justin Rose, Xander Schauffele
  1. The 2010 WGC-HSBC Champions is not counted as a PGA Tour win because Molinari was not a PGA Tour member at the time.

European Tour playoff record (0–3)

No.YearTournamentOpponent(s)Result
1 2008 UBS Hong Kong Open Lin Wen-tang, Rory McIlroy Lin won with birdie on second extra hole
Molinari eliminated by birdie on first hole
2 2010 Alstom Open de France Alejandro Cañizares, Miguel Ángel Jiménez Jiménez won with par on first extra hole
3 2012 Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open Jeev Milkha Singh Lost to birdie on first extra hole

Other wins (2)
No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin of
victory		Runner(s)-up
1 Sep 2009 Italian PGA Championship Gregory Molteni
2 29 Nov 2009 Omega Mission Hills World Cup
(with Edoardo Molinari)		 −29 (64-66-61-68=259) 1 stroke  Ireland − Graeme McDowell and Rory McIlroy,
 Sweden − Robert Karlsson and Henrik Stenson

Major championships

Wins (1)
YearChampionship54 holesWinning scoreMarginRunners-up
2018The Open Championship3 shot deficit−8 (70-72-65-69=276)2 strokes Kevin Kisner, Rory McIlroy,
Justin Rose, Xander Schauffele

Results timeline
Tournament200720082009
Masters Tournament
U.S. Open T27
The Open Championship CUT T13
PGA Championship T10
Tournament201020112012201320142015201620172018
Masters Tournament T30 CUT T19 CUT 50 T33 T20
U.S. Open CUT CUT T29 CUT T23 T27 CUT T25
The Open Championship CUT CUT T39 T9 T15 T40 T36 CUT 1
PGA Championship T33 T34 T54 T33 T58 T54 T22 T2 T6
Tournament 2019 2020
Masters Tournament T5 CUT
PGA Championship T48
U.S. Open T16
The Open Championship T11 NT
  Winner
  Top 10
  Did not play

CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied

Summary
TournamentWins2nd3rdTop-5Top-10Top-25EventsCuts made
Masters Tournament00011396
PGA Championship0101341111
U.S. Open000003106
The Open Championship100125128
Totals11036154231
  • Most consecutive cuts made – 12 (2013 Open – 2017 Masters)
  • Longest streak of top-10s – 3 (2018 Open – 2019 Masters)

Results in The Players Championship
Tournament 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
The Players Championship 9 CUT CUT CUT T6 T7 T6 CUT T56
  Top 10
  Did not play

CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place

World Golf Championships

Wins (1)
YearChampionship54 holesWinning scoreMarginRunner-up
2010 WGC-HSBC Champions 1 shot lead −19 (65-70-67-67=269) 1 stroke Lee Westwood

Results timeline

Results not in chronological order prior to 2015.

Tournament200920102011201220132014201520162017201820192020
Championship T14 T3 T13 T28 T25 T20 T25 T17 T53
Match Play R64 R64 R32 R64 R64 T34 T58 T17 3 NT1
Invitational T39 T15 T40 T44 T31 T61 T24 T39
Champions T10 1 T23 T39 T21 T6 T46 T43 T22 NT1

1Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic

  Win
  Top 10
  Did not play

QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play
NT = No tournament
"T" = Tied

PGA Tour career summary
SeasonStartsCuts
made		Wins2nd3rdTop
10		Top
25		Earnings
($)		Money
list rank[19]
200710000000n/a
200800000000n/a
20094400012304,368n/a
20108600012358,196n/a
201111600113158,387n/a
20128700003198,961n/a
20139600011245,463n/a
2014121200027847,974n/a
2015161300125997,389103
20161814000351,083,15598
201721170105142,875,85031
201820172105115,065,84211
20191514101363,467,14311
20206300002183,740193
Career*149119323246115,786,470116[20]

*As of the 2020 season.[21]
^ Molinari became member of the PGA Tour in 2015, so he is not included in the money list before that.

Team appearances

Amateur

Professional

Ryder Cup points record

20102012201420162018Total
0.50.5--56

References
  1. "Week 36 2018 Ending 9 Sep 2018" (pdf). OWGR. Retrieved 20 December 2018.
  2. Murray, Scott (22 July 2018). "The Open 2018: Francesco Molinari wins title on day of drama – as it happened". The Guardian.
  3. "Molinari ends wait for home win". BBC Sport. 7 May 2006. Retrieved 13 April 2009.
  4. "Italy edge Ireland to win World Cup of Golf in China". BBC Sport. 29 November 2009. Retrieved 30 November 2009.
  5. "Francesco Molinari holds his nerve to see off Lee Westwood in China". The Guardian. 7 November 2010. Retrieved 9 November 2010.
  6. "Magic Final Round Secures Title for Molinari". European Tour. 6 May 2012. Retrieved 6 May 2012.
  7. "Europe seal Ryder Cup win with comeback of epic proportions". The Guardian. 1 October 2012. Retrieved 3 October 2012.
  8. "Francesco Molinari's hole-in-one on No. 16 at Waste Management". 31 January 2015. Retrieved 17 September 2016.
  9. Hodgetts, Rob (23 July 2018). "Francesco Molinari wins British Open as Tiger Woods falls short". CNN.com. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
  10. "Europe wins back Ryder Cup, beating US 17 1/2-10 1/2". The Hamilton Spectator. The Canadian Press. 30 September 2018. Retrieved 29 October 2018.
  11. "Molinari crowned Race to Dubai Champion". European Tour. 18 November 2018. Retrieved 18 November 2018.
  12. "2018 Race to Dubai bonus pool, purse, winner's share, prize money payout". Golf News Net. Retrieved 18 November 2018.
  13. Shedloski, Dave (10 March 2019). "The secret to Francesco Molinari's recent success? Confidence without bravado". Golf Digest. Retrieved 11 March 2019.
  14. Hodgetts, Rob (7 August 2018). "The guru teaching golfers to think like 'assassins'". CNN.
  15. Walsh, David (29 July 2018). "When the guru Dave Alred met golfer Francesco Molinari". The Times.
  16. "Francesco Molinari porta l'Inter sul green" (in Italian).
  17. "Hammer Francesco eyes Open glory". 12 June 2014. Archived from the original on 14 June 2014.
  18. "Our Patrons and Ambassadors". Borne. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
  19. "Official Money". PGA Tour. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
  20. "Career Money Leaders". PGA Tour. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
  21. "Francesco Molinari". PGA Tour. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
Awards
Preceded by
Roger Federer		 BBC World Sport Star of the Year
2018		 Succeeded by
Eliud Kipchoge
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