Italy’s Francesco Molinari began the Open Championship at the Carnoustie Golf Links in Angus, Scotland, as a 25/1 longshot, but put together a bogey-free 69 final round to win his first major championship on Sunday — overcoming Jordan Speith, and snuffing out any brief glimmers of hope for golf fans thinking they might see Tiger Woods take down his 15th major.
The first golfer from Italy to win a major, he did so with a conventional, plodding, error-free style at Carnoustie Golf Links.
Tiger Woods, who began the event at 22/1, played the final round with Molinari, and at one point led the tournament. A double-bogey on the 11th hole, however, knocked him of contention.
Still, Woods was impressed by his 35-year-old playing partner.
“He played really solid today,” Woods said. “(He) hit a couple off shots, but winning it definitely was his short game. He chipped it beautifully. He made a couple of putts here and there for par, but to get it to where it was basically kick-in from some of the spots he put himself was pretty impressive. Great touch. You could see him actually try and hit a couple with cut spin, a couple with draw spin. He was working the ball around the greens, and that was cool to see.”
Bettors Cool To Red Hot Molinari
While Woods may have been amazed by Molinari, bettors were less impressed. After the first round he moved up to 20/1, but then a second-round 1-over par 72 dropped him down to 50/1. His third-round 65 got him back to 14/1, but co-leader Jordan Spieth was the favorite to win his fourth major at 7/4 going into the final round.
The other two leaders at 9-under going into Sunday were Xander Schauffele (5/1), and Kevin Kisner (11/2). Woods and Rory McIlroy joined Molinari at 14/1.
A look at Molinari’s last two PGA Tour events should have suggested he was capable of winning. He won his first event on tour at the Quicken Loans National on July 1, and finished tied for second two weeks later at the John Deere Classic.
Playing primarily on the PGA Tour since 2014 has not been easy for the former fixture on the European Tour, but he said he feels he has finally made the adjustment.
“It’s been tough playing more in the states, it’s been a bit of a wake-up call,” Molinari said. “I think for any European that goes over there, new courses, different players, different challenges. So, it wasn’t easy at the beginning, but I stuck with it and tried to make it work.”
What Happened to Woods, Spieth?
While Molinari made 13 consecutive pars, others he was chasing began falling away with crucial mistakes. Woods, who was looking for his first major victory in 10 years, was leading until the 11th hole, where he pushed his drive, one of the few that didn’t find the fairway, and ended up with a six.
“I made a couple mistakes on 11 around the green. I figured today was, starting off the day, that nine was probably going to be the number,” Woods said. “I figured I’d have to go get that number. Didn’t do it.”
Neither did Spieth, who lost his share of the lead early during the first nine holes. He finished with a five-over 76.
“I played patiently. I put good swings on it. Never got down on myself. Never got angry,” Spieth said. “I just didn’t make a putt today. I hit really good putts too. My stroke is there. It’s back, which feels awesome.”
