Francesco Molinari, the 84th Masters in Augusta is all about one thing: The 38-year-old Italian wants to close the darkest chapter of his career to date in the state of Georgia. Repel the demons that have haunted him for 19 months since the last Masters. “It would have been nice to return to Augusta after a year, to draw a line and look into the future,” he said. But the Corona postponement prevented this. “I hope that I can do that here.”
However, he knows best himself that this will not be easy for him. “Unfortunately, it has always been my natural tendency to think more about losing and losing opportunities. This is how my mind has always worked. That has always motivated me. ”But the events of the last day of the Masters 2019 had a long lasting effect and threw the native of Turin strongly off track.
Tiger Woods overtaken
When he traveled to the Masters in April of last year, he was ranked seventh in the world. But the pecking order didn’t tell the full story. He came out as the reigning “Champion Golfer of the Year” and had left Tiger Woods behind in a direct duel in Carnoustie (Scotland) when he won the British Open. He was the first European to win his five matches at the Ryder Cup in Paris, and together with his English partner Tommy Fleetwood as “Moliwood” he inspired the European fans and made a significant contribution to the clear victory over the Americans. With his third success on the PGA Tour at the Arnold Palmer Invitational in Orlando, he had demonstrated once again last month that he had matured into a professional who can withstand any pressure.
The goal in sight: Francesco Molinari
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Image: EPA
Molinari and the Masters have a long history in common. For the first time he was allowed to take part in this major in 2006, but as a caddy for his older brother. Edoardo Molinari won the US Amateur Championship in 2005 and thus qualified for the Masters. As tradition dictates, Edoardo was allowed to go out on the round with defending champion Tiger Woods on the first two days. “I got to know the course well back then, especially since we were often away from the fairways,” recalls Francesco Molinari, who was already playing on the European Tour at the time. His brother failed after rounds of 80 and 77 strokes on the cut and then switched to professional camp. However, it took another four years before Francesco Molinari was allowed to participate as a player in the first major of the year. After that, he always belonged to the select group of almost a hundred professionals and amateurs who qualified for this invitation tournament.
However, he never played a leading role: The best result for him was a shared 19th place from 2012 in the annals. But with the new self-confidence as a major winner and Ryder Cup hero, he showed last year that he can also play at the top in Augusta. In the first three days of the Masters, he had just hit two bogeys. After rounds of 70, 66 and 67 strokes, he went on the round as the leader in the last group of three – together with Woods and his American compatriot Tony Finau.
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Molinari defended his lead of two strokes over Woods until the 12th hole. But this par-3 hole (142 meters) in the heart of the world-famous “Amen Corner” (holes 11 to 13) turned into a little bugbear on the last day. In the penultimate group, first Englishman Ian Poulter and then American Brooks Koepka hit the ball into the water. This sank their chances of victory. In the end, Koepka shared second place with his compatriots Dustin Johnson and Xander Schauffele.
Molinari had noticed, so was warned. For a long time he discussed with his caddy which iron to pick up. He picked up iron 8. “It was the right club, but simply a bad shot,” he explains, why his ball did not go far enough, landed on the slope in front of the green and rolled into the water from there. Finau’s ball also disappeared into the stream. Both received a double bogey. Molinari sank the ball in the water again on the 15th hole and was finally out of the race for victory. In the end, like Finau, he ended up in shared fifth place, two strokes behind the winner Woods.
This break-in left deep marks. “After that, I just didn’t realize how well I played over the four days.” He hasn’t made it into the top ten at any tournament since that slump. After the Players Championship was canceled in March due to the pandemic, Molinari withdrew in frustration and took a seven-month break from golf. After living in London with his wife and two children for twelve years, he first looked for a domicile in San Francisco, which he then found in Los Angeles.
He only returned to the tour in mid-October, failing at the cut in Las Vegas. Last week he finished 15th at the Houston Open. In the world rankings he is now only in 85th place. That’s why he doesn’t have high hopes of finishing at the top of the Masters this year: “A win would be a huge surprise, even for me. I just see this tournament as a step to return to normal after the long break. “
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