The two cemented their friendship at the Ryder Cup, but on Thursday Tommy Fleetwood will be doing his best to disappoint Italian’s Francesco Molinari’s chances to win the Race to Dubai. Fleetwood begins that mission at the European Tour’s season-ending DP World Tour Championship at Jumeirah Golf Estates in Dubai.
Fleetwood is a 12/1 pick to win the event, while Molinari is listed at 20/1. The favorite is Ireland’s Rory McIlroy at 8/1, followed by Spaniards Sergio Garcia and Jon Rahm at 10/1.
The odds of the UK’s Fleetwood denying Molinari the $1.25 million prize for finishing at the top of the European Tour’s money list is slim. Fleetwood will have to win the DP World Tour Championship and Molinari finish no lower than a tie for fifth.
It’s not impossible for Molinari to slip, and Fleetwood should know. He came into this event last year with a sizable lead and was a virtual lock to win the Order of Merit. Then he stumbled and watch Justin Rose charge up the leaderboard. Fleetwood escaped with the title, but is conscious that an upset is possible.
This year being in second is kind of an advantage for Fleetwood, who definitely doesn’t have the same pressure as he did last year.
“The biggest difference is it’s not in my hands,” Fleetwood said. “It’s just great to have that excitement surrounding the event again, it really is. You’ve come this far and to have a chance, as little as it is, and it’s not a big chance and it’s not in my hands at all, but you know it’s there and you’re teeing off on Thursday with a chance at winning the biggest prize of the year.”
Molinari Controls Destiny
The Open Championship winner used that event and the BMW PGA Championship to build a formidable lead for the top spot. Molinari isn’t resting, though, knowing it could slip through his fingers if not careful.
“Really, it’s a dream season for me and it’s nice to be here in this position,” Molinari said. “Hopefully I’ll be able to close it out. I know it’s not going to be easy and I’m not making any assumptions but I’ll do my best on the course to do the job.”
Molinari hasn’t missed a cut all year on the European Tour, and said this is his best season as a pro.
“You can have the best week of your life and win one tournament but to win a competition that lasts throughout the season, with the amount of talent there is right now on the European Tour, is something really hard to do but it’s also still hard to figure out for me how I’m here in this position,” Molinari said.
Budding Bromance
Part of his success comes from his friendship with Fleetwood. The two have been able to work together on being better players. That was evident at the Ryder Cup, when the duo won four points as a pair. Molinari went on to win his singles match to claim five points, the first European to go a perfect five-for-five in the competition.
The performance between the two spawned one of the funniest videos related to the Ryder Cup.
https://twitter.com/RyderCupEurope/status/1046688393005060096
The two will be playing the first two rounds of the DP together, and Fleetwood genuinely wants Molinari to do well if he can’t win.
“It’s a very good thing that we’ll be teeing off on Thursday together and sort of see that we have a chance,” Fleetwood said. “Great for us as friends. You know you’re going out there with the person you’re closest with on tour, trying to win the biggest prize that we play for. So it’s a nice. And like I say, if it doesn’t work out for me, I couldn’t be happier for him for what he’s achieved this year.”