Francesco Molinari

Francesco Molinari
— Golfer —
Personal information
Full name Francesco Molinari
Born 8 November 1982
Turin, Italy
Height 1.72 m (5 ft 8 in)
Weight 72 kg (159 lb; 11.3 st)
Nationality  Italy
Residence Turin, Italy
Spouse Valentina (m. 2007)
Children Tommaso
Career
College University of Turin
Turned professional 2004
Current tour(s) European Tour
PGA Tour
Professional wins 5
Number of wins by tour
European Tour 3
Other 2
Best results in major championships
Masters Tournament T19: 2012
U.S. Open T23: 2014
The Open Championship T9: 2013
PGA Championship T10: 2009

Francesco Molinari (born 8 November 1982) is an Italian professional golfer. He is a three-time winner on the European Tour, with one of those wins being the WGC-HSBC Champions in 2010.

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.[1] 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.[2] In August 2010, he represented Europe in the 2010 Ryder Cup which took place at Celtic Manor Resort. Europe defeated the United States 14½–13½.

2010 was Molinari's best year on Tour to date. 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.[3] The win moved him into 14th in the Official World Golf Ranking, his highest ranking to date. He also recorded eleven top-10 finishes including two runner-up finishes en route to a 5th place finish in the Race to Dubai.

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 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.[4] In July 2012, the week before the 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 was a member of Europe's Ryder Cup team that won in 2010. At the 2012 Ryder Cup he halved with Tiger Woods the last singles match on the final day. The half-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.[5]

Molinari played well enough on the 2014 PGA Tour as a non-member to earn a PGA Tour card for the 2014–15 season.

Personal life

Molinari stated that he is a fan of English football team West Ham United after Italian football manager Gianfranco Zola started managing the East London side in 2008.[6] Molinari's coach Denis Pugh also supports West Ham

Amateur wins (5)

Professional wins (5)

European Tour wins (3)

Legend
World Golf Championships (1)
Other European Tour (2)
No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory		 Runner(s) up
1 7 May 2006 Telecom Italia Open –23 (68-65-67-65=265) 4 strokes Denmark Anders Hansen, Sweden Jarmo Sandelin
2 7 Nov 2010 WGC-HSBC Champions –19 (65-70-67-67=269) 1 stroke England Lee Westwood
3 6 May 2012 Reale Seguros Open de España –8 (70-71-74-65=280) 3 strokes Spain Alejandro Cañizares, Denmark Søren Kjeldsen,
Spain Pablo Larrazábal

European Tour playoff record (0–3)

No.YearTournamentOpponent(s)Result
1 2008
(2009 season)		 UBS Hong Kong Open Taiwan Lin Wen-tang, Northern Ireland Rory McIlroy Lin won with birdie on second extra hole
Molinari eliminated with par on first hole
2 2010 Alstom Open de France Spain Alejandro Cañizares, Spain Miguel Ángel Jiménez Jimenez won with par on first extra hole
3 2012 Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open India Jeev Milkha Singh Lost to birdie on first extra hole

Other wins (2)

Results in major championships

Tournament 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
Masters Tournament DNP DNP DNP T30 CUT T19 CUT 50
U.S. Open DNP DNP T27 CUT CUT T29 CUT T23
The Open Championship CUT DNP T13 CUT CUT T39 T9 T15
PGA Championship DNP DNP T10 T33 T34 T54 T33 T58

DNP = Did not play
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied
Yellow background for top-10.

Summary

Tournament Wins 2nd 3rd Top-5 Top-10 Top-25 Events Cuts made
Masters Tournament 0 0 0 0 0 1 5 3
U.S. Open 0 0 0 0 0 1 6 3
The Open Championship 0 0 0 0 1 3 7 4
PGA Championship 0 0 0 0 1 1 6 6
Totals 0 0 0 0 2 6 24 16

World Golf Championships

Wins (1)

YearChampionship54 holesWinning scoreMargin of victoryRunner-up
2010 WGC-HSBC Champions 1 shot lead –19 (65-70-67-67=269) 1 stroke England Lee Westwood

Results timeline

Tournament200920102011201220132014
Accenture Match Play Championship DNP R64 R64 R32 R64 R64
Cadillac Championship DNP T14 T3 T13 T28 T25
Bridgestone Invitational DNP T39 T15 T40 T44 T31
HSBC Champions T10 1 T23 T39 T21 DNP

DNP = Did not play
QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play
"T" = Tied
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10.

Team appearances

Amateur

Professional

References

  1. ↑ "Molinari ends wait for home win". BBC Sport. 7 May 2006. Retrieved 13 April 2009.
  2. ↑ "Italy edge Ireland to win World Cup of Golf in China". BBC Sport. 29 November 2009. Retrieved 30 November 2009.
  3. ↑ "Francesco Molinari holds his nerve to see off Lee Westwood in China". The Guardian. 7 November 2010. Retrieved 9 November 2010.
  4. ↑ "Magic Final Round Secures Title for Molinari". European Tour. 6 May 2012. Retrieved 6 May 2012.
  5. ↑ "Europe seal Ryder Cup win with comeback of epic proportions". Guardian UK. 1 October 2012. Retrieved 3 October 2012.
  6. ↑ http://www.whufc.com/articles/20140612/hammer-francesco-eyes-open-glory_2236884_3900253

External links