Francesco Molinari is increasingly one of the protagonists of the great golf world. In recent weeks, the thirty-year-old champion from Turin has offered a unique show, with his perfect and balanced game, thanks to one of the most beautiful swings of the tour. Runner-up at the French Open a few weeks ago, Molinari today tops the standings in Scotland with -17 and warm up your muscles for next week's awaited British Open, the third major of the season, the oldest and most famous, the only one played in Europe, in Great Britain, in the cradle of golf. What the British simply call The Open.
The big challenge begins on Thursday at Royal Lytham & St. Annes, Lancshire, on the west coast of England, but Italian fans of this sport are already enjoying an anticipation of strong emotions this weekend with Molinari in dust at the Scottish Open, underway at Castle Stuart Golf Links (par 72), Inverness in Scotland.
Francesco took the lead on day one with a stunning performance (-10 under par), managed not to give up on the second day, after running into a bad triple bogey on hole 7 (total 70, -2). In the third round he started at -12, in the lead, together with the Swede Alexander Noren (66 66) and immediately put the turbo, making a series of birdies, to close the round at -5, 17 under par for the total. Behind Francesco the Danish Anders Hansen with whom he plays on the fourth day. The youngest of the Molinari brothers, "Chicco" to his friends, appeared with impressive regularity, although still a bit uncertain about putts. The fourth lap will tell if Chicco will bring home another victory in this splendid 2012 season, but already what he has done is a lot. His fingers are also crossed for Matteo Manassero, the hope of the blue and world golf with his 19 years and a bag full of grit. Too bad for a double bogey on the 16th and a bogey on the 17th which effectively dashed any hopes of participating in the English Open. While Molinari, number 28 in the rankings, will certainly play the British, Manassero should finish at least fifth at the Scottish and prevail over a couple of other players in contention to grab a tee time at St. Annes, a very difficult feat starting from thirty-second position.
A few days from "The Open" it is worth dreaming that the most major of all can, can, sooner or later, become Italian. It's a goal that was only touched by the great Costantino Rocca in 1995: memorable was his very long putt in the 18th hole to bring the American John Daly to the play-offs. Unfortunately, in the playoff, it was Daly to prevail, but the show remains unforgettable. Since then, no Italian has ever come so close to this goal. Winning a major means becoming a star and skyrocketing sponsorships, but winning the British Open means becoming a legend. Francesco Molinari has been flying high for months, thanks to serious and constant training, family serenity and the arrival of little Tommaso. Scotland is a great target, but it's natural to look further, to Lytham, to a treacherous course, par 70, prepared to make even the most skilled golfer suffer. The task is difficult because from Thursday there will be all the champions. First Tiger Woods, who missed a cut last week after recently taking another win and taking the lead from Fedex. Tiger is number 4 in the world rankings, not bad for a champion who hasn't yet found his 5% form. He really wants to win a major even the number one in the world, the English Luke Donald, who, however, is not giving his best in Scotland. The English Lee Westwood (number three in the world) dreams of his first major, while the Northern Irishman Rory McIlroy (number two) must find all his determination to continue writing beautiful pieces of the history of this sport. The Masters champion Bubba Watson is arriving in England together with the large group of great players who are growing and alternating at the top of the rankings, such as the last winner of the US Open, Webb Simpson, already number XNUMX in the world. In short, the audience of suitors is broad and noble.
On the other hand, "the Open" is played only in courses that can boast the title "Royal" conferred by a sovereign: the British crowns the king of golf and is like an Oscar for an actor. Commentators are convinced more than ever that this year the best will win, one able to face the many pitfalls of the course, the very deep bunkers, the relentless winds. “A beast of the field” has been defined, a beast tamed twice by the legendary and regretted Severiano Ballesteros, the last time in 1988 with a whimsical and masterful lap. Molinari has all the technical characteristics to succeed, some foreign commentators are surprised that he doesn't win much more, because for some time now he has been "always there" and this constancy is more significant than many exploits. Italian golf is "small" (one hundred thousand players against 25 million in the USA) but very classy and we are sure that thanks to this serious boy from Turin it will grow and go further.
