Francesco Molinari:
First Italian Winner of Italian Open in 26 years at Castello
di Tolcinasco.
The Scotsman
Phil Casey
In
FRANCESCO Molinari was drenched in
Molinari carded a brilliant
final-round 65 for a 23-under-par total of 265, four clear of
Claiming the first prize of Ј161,000,
23-year-old Molinari was engulfed by family and
friends after he holed a seven-foot birdie putt on the final hole to spark
massive celebrations from the home crowd.
"It's
amazing, really unbelievable," he said after dropping only one shot all
week with a three-putt on the fourth hole of his first round. "I would not
have thought about winning so early in my career. I was hoping to give the
Italian supporters some joy soon, but I was not thinking about this year.
"I was quite
nervous after I three-putted the 12th for par because I saw Jarmo
Sandelin was also 20 under par, but when I saw the
next leaderboard on the 16th I was two clear, I knew
it was going well for me. I want to thank all the people supporting me, it was like playing in a football stadium."
Molinari's elder brother, Edoardo,
won the US Amateur title last year, and Francesco added: "I think we are
equal now. I had to win something to catch him. We are 1-1 now and need to
score some more goals."
Molinari was not even born when
He began the day
tied for the lead with
Sandelin drew level by chipping to
within inches of the hole for a birdie on the 15th, but then three-putted the
next for a bogey after charging his birdie attempt ten feet past.
Molinari, who finished 86th on the
money list in his rookie season last year, then stretched his advantage with a
birdie on the 13th and effectively sealed victory with another from three feet
on the par-5 15th.
Sandelin could also celebrate
securing his card for next season with his third top-ten finish of the season.
The extrovert Swede won five times on the European Tour between 1995 and 2002,
and played in the Ryder Cup at
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