Francesco Molinari, after 36 holes, is second at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and is preparing to experience a weekend of strong emotions. The distance from the leader is great, because Adam Scott is in the lead at -14 and has a seven-stroke lead over him and the other direct pursuers, but there is half a race ahead of him and a lot of golf. For the 31-year-old from Turin, maintaining his position would already be an extraordinary result, also useful for his qualification in the Ryder Cup, but nothing prevents things from going better than expected.
Halfway through, the Bay Hill standings see Scott, the 2013 Masters champion, in the lead with 130 strokes (-14), followed by Molinari, JBHolmes and Chesson Hadley at -7. Behind 4 players at -6, including Keegan Bradley and Brandt Snedeker. Six instead are the players at -5, including Ian Poulter. The Orlando course also made famous victims such as Justine Rose and Lee Westwood, who did not pass the cut, while Bubba Watson retired after a disastrous first lap. So far, the performance of Henrik Stenson, the Swede first in the Race to Dubai and in the Fedex Cup 2013, and that of Patrick Reed, winner of the World Championship in Miami a couple of weeks ago, have been disappointing. Both are in 29th position at -2.
Who has given wings in this competition instead is Adam Scott. The Australian arrived at the tee on Thursday with a little flu and some fever and, as often happens in golf, this was good for him. Few expectations are always an excellent psychological condition to play great. So it was, so much so that, on the first day, Adam signed the course record (62) by making two eagles and an embarrassing amount of "one putt".
It is unlikely that he will keep up this pace today and tomorrow, but it is equally unlikely that he will let go. Firstly because he has a considerable advantage, then because he is an experienced champion, winner of majors and finally because he wants to accumulate points to become world number one. In short, Scott is very motivated and plays very well. Winning at Bay Hill won't be enough to unseat Tiger Woods, but it will take him another step in the desired direction. As far as the World Ranking is concerned, it now seems only a matter of time and Scott, number two, is Woods' most likely heir. This is not because Tiger will stop playing, but rather because there is no end to his physical problem in sight. The back pain of the champion above all requires rest and he shouldn't take it under the knife of a surgeon. But it's a disease that has been dragging on since the end of August and that hasn't even resolved itself in the autumn months, when the champion took a long vacation. What miracle will happen between now and the Masters to get Tiger back in shape and able to keep first place in the ranking? What will be his future? Hard to tell.
Meanwhile, however, there is the beautiful present of Molinari: a start in pole position, which gives him worldwide visibility and which, hopefully, brings him closer to qualifying in Ryder.
Francesco unfortunately doesn't play with Scott today, but leaves immediately before. These are the tee times: 13,50 pm for the Australian together with the North American JB Holmes; 13,40 pm Molinari with Chesson Hadley. The time zone with Italy is 5 hours. The race can be followed, at least partially, on the PGA Tour website and on Sky Sport 3 starting at 20pm.
