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The Form of His Life
On May 26th I ventured to Wentworth Club for the Saturday of the BMW PGA Championship. A certain Rory McIlroy was -12 heading into the weekend after a flawless -7 65 the previous day. All eyes on the fan favourite.
Francesco Molinari was -7 and in good shape, but still a mere afterthought to McIlroy. The Italian didn't like this, so he shot a flawless 66 as Rory stuttered to a 71. Fans began breaking off from Rory to follow Molinari at an alarming rate. Admittedly this may have had something to do with Rory already hitting two spectators. But the 35-year-old was totally unfazed by the attention as he carded birdie after birdie with this incredible air of grace about him.
Molinari went bogey-free again on Sunday to claim the title in the year's first Rolex Series event.
From ecstasy to heartbreak, the following week saw him miss out on top spot by a single stroke at his home tournament; the Italian Open. However, he showed the same degree of class in defeat; sending the home crowd wild with a superb long birdie putt at the last.
Molinari's Maryland Magic
After a solid T25 at the U.S. Open, the form horse hopped across the pond for the PGA Tour's Quicken Loans National. It seemed a strange decision not to compete in the Open De France at Le Golf National given his Ryder Cup hopes, but it's fair to say it was the right decision.
Stealing the spotlight from Rory McIlroy is one thing, but from Tiger Woods? No chance. No way.
Tiger burst into life with a 65 on Friday, whilst his fans burst eardrums with every birdie. Tiger followed this up with a 68-66 weekend for a highly impressive -11.
Molinari? Oh, he made 65 on Friday too. Then he did it again on Saturday. Then he shot 62 on Sunday. -11? That's nothing, try -21.
The Molinari Way
Sure, plenty of players go through good spells of form. The difference with Molinari is simply the way in which he wins. He's only carded two bogeys in each of his wins at the BMW PGA Championship (-17) and Quicken Loans National (-21) and his runner-up at the Italian Open (-21). None of these bogeys have come on the same day either. Compare this to Alex Noren's 8 bogeys and one double-bogey as he won at Le Golf National, and you can see why Molinari's steady, sure-handed approach makes him a lethal weapon in Team Europe's arsenal on that course this September.
The Stateside win will not earn him any Ryder Cup ranking points, but he's certainly won some brownie points in Captain Thomas Bjorn's eyes!
Written by Joe Carabini
