Francesco Molinari profile: from amateur days to Open champion
Francesco Molinari profile: we track the career of the 2018 Open champion.
- Born: 8 November 1982, Turin, Italy
- Has promising amateur career, going on to win the Italian Amateur Match Play Championship in 2004
- Turns pro later in 2004
- Goes onto the European Tour’s Qualifying School, earning his Tour card in 2005
- In his first year on Tour, Molinari comes 86th on the Order of Merit
- He claimed his first victory in 2006 at the Telecom Italian Open, becoming the first Italian to win the event since Massimo Mannelli in 1980
- Molinari finished 38th on the Order of Merit that season
- Between 2007-2009 Molinari was winless, but recorded twenty top-10 finishes and three runner-ups.
- He finished 60th on the Order of Merit in 2007, 24th in 2008 and 14th in 2009
- Molinari cracks the world’s top 50 in 2009
- He teams up with brother Edoardo later in 2009 to win the World Cup of Golf for Italy
- In 2010 he won the WGC-HSBC Champions in Shanghai, China
- Reaches 14th in the world rankings
- Finishes 5th in the Race to Dubai, with 11 top-10 finishes, and two runner-ups
- Plays for a victorious Europe in the 2010 Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor. Plays with brother Edoardo in the four-balls, and faces Tiger Woods in the final day singles – loses 4 and 3
- Chalked seven top-10s in 2011, but was unable to add another victory
- Gets his third win on the European Tour at the Reale Seguros Open de Espana in 2012
- A week before the 2012 Open, Molinari loses a play-off at the Scottish Open to Jeev Milkh Singh
- Plays the 2012 Ryder Cup – the Miracle at Medinah. He halved with Tiger Woods on the final day to secure the win for Europe
- Between 2013 and 2014, Molinari was unable to log any more wins but his steady play kept him in the world’s top 50
- His world golf ranking allowed him to compete in events on the PGA Tour for the first time
- He had an impressive 6th at the 2014 Players Championship, earning him a full PGA Tour card for the 2014-2015 season
- He split his time between the European and PGA Tour seasons in 2015, going on to win the Italian Open in 2016
- Wins his fifth European Tour title, and the first in the Rolex Series, at the BMW PGA in May, 2018, holding off Rory McIlroy on the final day
- Victory at the European Tour’s flagship event saw him draw level with Constantino Rocca for the most wins by an Italian player
- Shoots a 62 on the final day to win the Quicken Loans National, his first win on the PGA Tour
- Lands his first major at the 2018 Open with a score of -8 at Carnoustie
- Major triumph sees him move to a career high sixth in the world rankings
