History was made on the European Tour last week as Francesco Molinari became the first home player to win the Italian Open on two occasions. The Italian fired a closing 65 to beat Ryder Cup star Danny Willett by one in a tense final-day battle.

Molinari – a former Ryder Cup player himself – couldn’t have asked for a better start; an eagle-3 on the first followed by a birdie at the second opened up a quick two-shot advantage over the Englishman. Standing on the 13th tee, Molinari was four ahead and looked destined for victory. We all know how quickly things can change in the game of golf, and it only took two holes for Willett to close the gap to one with four holes to play. Despite some nervy moments from both players over the closing stretch, they both parred the remaining four holes to see Molinari pick up his fourth European Tour victory.

It was a good week for some of Europe’s other Ryder Cup jewels too, as Cabrera-Bello finished T12, Fitzpatrick ended the week in T15, whilst Kaymer, Sullivan and Wood all finished in T20. Finding form at just the right time? Let’s hope so!

What equipment did Molinari use?

• Driver – Nike Vapor Fly (10.5 degrees)
• Fairway wood – Nike Vapor Fly (13 degrees)
• Hybrid – Nike Vapor Fly (17 degrees)
• Irons – Nike Vapor Pro Combo (4 iron); Nike Vapor Pro (5-PW)
• Wedges – Nike Engage (52, 56 & 60)
• Putter – Nike Method

The European Tour crossed borders last week as the Shenzhen International took place in China. For the second week in a row there was a newbie on the winner’s podium as TaylorMade Soomin Lee claimed his maiden European Tour title, propelling himself into the top 10 of the Race to Dubai standings. 22-year-old Lee has had a brilliant start to his golfing career to date with two top three finishes in his first five outings. Moving on to his sixth event, Lee was tied for the lead with five holes left to play in his final round before play was suspended for the day due to electrical storms. In his situation, given his final-straight meltdown earlier on in the season, Lee would have been forgiven for letting his nerves get the better of him yet again, however this was far from the case. Resuming on Monday morning after yet another weather delay, Lee followed a birdie on 16 with a magical eagle on 17 on his way to a two-shot, wire-to-wire victory.

What equipment did he use?

• Driver – TaylorMade M1 430 (9.5)
• 3-wood – TaylorMade M2 (15)
• Irons – Srixon Z 945

The PGA Tour’s Valero Texas Open looked destined for a playoff this week as Patrick Reed birdied the 72nd hole, leaving playing partner Charley Hoffman a 9-foot putt for the win on the par-5 18th. This was far from straight-forward for Hoffman seeing as he had been within touching distance of numerous victories in previous months, only to trip up over the final hurdle on each occasion. However this was his time: a solid stroke and a pure connection saw the ball travel towards the hole, not leaving the centre of the cup the whole way. A Tiger Woods-esque fist pump followed as Hoffman held his nerve to win his fourth PGA Tour title, one ahead of American compatriot Patrick Reed.

What equipment did he use?

• Driver – Titleist 915D4 (9.5)
• 3-wood – Titleist 915F (13.5)
• Hybrid – Titleist 915Hd (17.5)
• Irons – Titleist 716 T-MB (3, 5-9)
• Wedges – Vokey SM5 wedges (46, 50, 56 & 58)
• Putter – Scotty Cameron GoLo 5 prototype
• Ball – Titleist Pro V1

To see the options we have available on our golf shop, head to https://www.foremostgolf.com/. If you have any queries, please do not hesitate to give us a call on +44 (0) 800 500 3194.

There’s no truer test of shot-making ability and imagination than links golf; one of the reasons so many top players choose to compete in the Scottish Open the week prior to The Open. From gale-force winds to devil-like pot bunkers, you’ll certainly know when you’re out on the links.

Sweden’s Alex Noren coped best with the conditions at Castle Stuart, a 14-under-par winning total giving him his fifth European Tour title. All four of Noren’s previous victories had come when he held the lead heading into the final round, a record which he maintained thanks to a closing two-under-par. An early birdie at the par-5 second calmed any Sunday jitters, before the 33-year-old fought off strong challenges from a congested leaderboard at the Inverness Links.

As alluded to previously, there’s no type of golf that examines so many parts of a player’s game more than links. For once, hitting the ball a country mile doesn’t necessarily give you an edge; it’s all about plotting your way through the valleys and mounds on the fairways, hitting the correct part of the severely undulating greens before holding your nerve on the slick carpets.

Noren did exactly that last week. The Callaway Golf staffer was third on Driving Accuracy, hitting 84% of the fairways over the four days, whilst being just 47th on Driving Distance at a measly 275 yards. It’s a method that all the players will be adhering to at Troon this week for the 145th Open Championship.

What equipment did Noren use?

• Driver – Callaway XR 16 driver (8.5 degrees)
• Fairway wood – Callaway XR 3-wood (15 degrees)
• Hybrid – Callaway Apex (18 degrees)
• Irons – Callaway Apex Pro (4-9)
• Wedges – Callaway Mack Daddy (47, 52, 56 and 60 degrees)
• Putter – Odyssey Works