Francesco Molinari

Early life and amateur career

Molinari was born on 8 November 1982 in Turin, Italy. He 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. Molinari turned professional later that year.

Molinari graduated from the University of Turin with a degree in economics.

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. This victory helped him finish 38th on the Order of Merit. He did not 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.

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. 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, Molinari 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, 14–13. 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. 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 14 points to 13. During the 2013 and 2014 seasons Molinari did not register a tournament 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.

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. 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.

In September 2018, Molinari qualified for the European team participating in the 2018 Ryder Cup. Europe defeated the U.S. team 17 to 10. Molinari became the first player ever to go 5–0–0. He paired with Tommy Fleetwood to win all four fourball and foursome matches. He also won his singles match against Phil Mickelson. On 18 November 2018, Molinari won the season-long Race to Dubai title on the European Tour. The victory was worth $1,250,000.

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 Matt Fitzpatrick, who shot a final-round 71. 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,{{cite web |url= https://www.golfdigest.com/story/masters-2019-francesco-molinaris-bad-execution-at-12-set-in-motion-his-downfall

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

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

Personal life

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

Awards and honors

• In 2018, Molinari earned the season-long Race to Dubai title for the European Tour.
• In 2018, he won the European Tour Golf of the Year award.
• In 2018, he won European Tour Players' Player of the Year.
• In 2018, Molinari received the BBC World Sport Star of the Year award, which was formerly known as the BBC Overseas Sports Personality of the Year award. He was the first Italian to receive this prize.
• In 2018, Molinari received the Golden Collar of Sports Merit.

Amateur wins

• 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

Professional wins (10)

PGA Tour wins (3)

European Tour wins (6)

European Tour playoff record (0–3)

Other wins (2)

Major championships

Wins (1)

Results timeline

CUT = missed the half-way cut

"T" = tied

NT = no tournament due to COVID-19 pandemic

Summary

• Most consecutive cuts made – 12 (2013 Open – 2017 Masters)
• Longest streak of top-10s – 3 (2018 Open – 2019 Masters)

Results in The Players Championship

CUT = missed the halfway cut

"T" indicates a tie for a place

C = Cancelled after the first round due to the COVID-19 pandemic

World Golf Championships

Wins (1)

Results timeline

Results not in chronological order prior to 2015.

1Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic

QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play

NT = No tournament

"T" = Tied

PGA Tour career summary

^ Molinari became member of the PGA Tour in 2015, so he is not included in the money list before that.

Team appearances

Amateur

• European Boys' Team Championship (representing Italy): 1999
• European Youths' Team Championship (representing Italy): 2000
• European Amateur Team Championship (representing Italy): 2001, 2003
• Eisenhower Trophy (representing Italy): 2002, 2004
• Bonallack Trophy (representing Europe): 2004
• Palmer Cup (representing Europe): 2004 (winners)
• St Andrews Trophy (representing the Continent of Europe): 2004

Professional

• World Cup (representing Italy): 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 (winners), 2011, 2013, 2016
• Seve Trophy (representing Continental Europe): 2009, 2011, 2013 (winners)
• Ryder Cup (representing Europe): 2010 (winners), 2012 (winners), 2018 (winners)
• Royal Trophy (representing Europe): 2012
• Team Cup (representing Continental Europe): 2023 (playing captain, winners), 2025 (playing captain)

Ryder Cup points record

Honours

Orders

: [[Image:Nastrino Stella Merito sportivo 2015.svg|50px]] CONI: Golden Collar of Sports Merit: Collare d'Oro al Merito Sportivo: 2018

Notes

References

References

1. McEwan, Michael. (14 December 2020). "Fresh blow for Francesco Molinari at end of torrid 2020".
2. "Francesco Molinari". ESPN.
3. "Francesco Molinari, dalla Ryder all'Open Championship: la storia di un fenomeno del golf". Sky Sport.
4. (7 May 2006). "Molinari ends wait for home win". [[BBC Sport]].
5. (29 November 2009). "Italy edge Ireland to win World Cup of Golf in China". BBC Sport.
6. (7 November 2010). "Francesco Molinari holds his nerve to see off Lee Westwood in China". The Guardian.
7. Hennessey, Stephen. (8 November 2018). "Francesco Molinari: 15 things you need to know about the 2018 Open champion and Ryder Cup star".
8. (6 May 2012). "Magic Final Round Secures Title for Molinari". [[European Tour]].
9. (1 October 2012). "Europe seal Ryder Cup win with comeback of epic proportions". The Guardian.
10. (31 January 2015). "Francesco Molinari's hole-in-one on No. 16 at Waste Management".
11. Murray, Scott. (22 July 2018). "The Open 2018: Francesco Molinari wins title on day of drama – as it happened". The Guardian.
12. Hodgetts, Rob. (23 July 2018). "Francesco Molinari wins British Open as Tiger Woods falls short".
13. (30 September 2018 }}{{Dead link). "Europe wins back Ryder Cup, beating US 17 1/2-10 1/2". The Hamilton Spectator.
14. (18 November 2018). "Molinari crowned Race to Dubai Champion". European Tour.
15. (15 November 2018). "2018 Race to Dubai bonus pool, purse, winner's share, prize money payout".
16. Shedloski, Dave. (10 March 2019). "The secret to Francesco Molinari's recent success? Confidence without bravado".
17. Hodgetts, Rob. (7 August 2018). "The guru teaching golfers to think like 'assassins'". CNN.
18. Walsh, David. (29 July 2018). "When the guru Dave Alred met golfer Francesco Molinari". [[The Times]].
19. "Our Patrons and Ambassadors".
20. "Francesco Molinari porta l'Inter sul green".
21. (12 June 2014). "Hammer Francesco eyes Open glory".
22. (16 December 2018). "Sports Personality of the Year: Golfer Francesco Molinari named World Sport Star". BBC Sport.
23. "Official Money". PGA Tour.
24. "Career Money Leaders". PGA Tour.
25. (19 October 2015). "European Boys' Team Championship – European Golf Association".
26. (19 October 2015). "EGA Events, Results, European Team Championships, European Youths' Team Championship". European Golf Association.
27. (12 January 2025). "Great Britain & Ireland win Team Cup 17-8". European Tour.
28. (19 December 2018). "Coni: A Francesco Molinari il Collare d'Oro al Merito Sportivo". Comitato Olimpico Nazionale Italiano.