Could Edoardo Molinari’s Win at the Scottish Open mean a Win at the British Open?
After two days of beating rain at the Barclays Scottish Open at Loch Lomond, Irishman Darren Clarke was surprisingly the professional golfer to beat. And, Italian professional golfer Edoardo Molinari did just that.
Molinari won with a 12-under-par 272 after the weather called for the early exits of several champion greats like American Phil Mickleson and South African professional Ernie Els, among others.
It was a great day for Molinari who said, “It was a dream day…When we teed off I thought I didn’t have a chance against Darren because he’s a great player when conditions are like that. When I saw the conditions
I thought I could have shot any number.”
The Italian plans to have another great day at The British Open at St. Andrews and his win at Loch Lomond no doubt signals a newfound confidence in his game.
Many will argue that a win in the Scottish Open does not mean a lot going into St. Andrews old greens, but Molinari played a game in the Scottish Open that signals his return amongst the best since being the first European in nearly 100 years to win the US amateur five years ago.
Molinari's one-stroke start ahead of Clarke turned into a five-stroke lead when Clarke dropped his shot at the 2nd. Clarke’s shots went disastrously forth from there with a later double-bogey that landed him at a hazard filled with mud and water.
Molinari accredits his win to his ability to play well under any circumstances and not to Clarke’s misgivings: “We still had 15 holes to play, it was very windy and you could have had a double-bogey on any hole,” he told one newspaper. “The tee-shot at the 10th, for example, you could have been there for half-an-hour if you couldn’t hit it straight.”
Molinari now has a chance to prove that it was his own abilities, and not Clarke’s lack of ability, that ultimately won him the tournament, as he goes into The Open with a chance to win two Majors in a row.
The pressure going into the 150th Open could phase the Italian, who is now ranked in the World’s Top 20 Rankings after winning the Scottish Open, but the pressure to succeed only seems to motivate the 29 year-old.
"I can't wait to be honest," Molinari said. "St. Andrews is a place I've always loved by vision since the first time I played it and I think it's the course where the more times you play the better it gets. So I'm quite excited to go there and play a practice round with Francesco again - and hopefully be in the final group again with him!"
Francesco Molinari is Edoardo Molinari’s younger brother, who turned professional in 2004. Francesco Molinari is among the top 50 professional golfers in the World Rankings and he and older brother, Edoardo, helped to lead Italy to its first World Cup at the Omega Mission Hills World Cup in China.
With the Irish having all the luck this season, from rising star Rory McIlroy, who is having a formidable year, to Graeme McDowell, who pulled in a surprising win at the US Open at Pebble Beach, to Clarke, who came in second at the Scottish Open, it looks like it could be a battle of the Irish versus the Italians at The 2010 Open. Regardless of the winner, Team Europe certainly has a strong standing going up against Team America this year.
English golfer Justin Rose joins the ranks as someone to watch after his victory at the AT&T National this year, but with the Loch Lomond victory under his belt and a brother by his side, all heads turn and all bets are on Edoardo Molinari in this year's British Open.
Tags: