He is a great golf champion, but he is also a champion of seriousness, virtue, modesty, elegance. He is the best testimonial that a country can boast in the world of sport and who knows if Italy is realizing it. We're talking about Francesco Molinari, who yesterday, at the end of an exceptional season, won the 2018 European Golf Tour, completing a feat that had never been achieved by any other Italian player.
From April onwards, a magic took place that brought the blue to sixth place in the world order of merit. In fact, Francesco won the BMW PGA Championship (European tour), the Quicken Loans National (American tour), the Open Championship (a major and therefore common to all tours) in succession. Happy, but not yet full, in September he was the absolute protagonist of the Ryder Cup in Paris, the only European in the history of this competition to win five out of five matches played.
Yesterday also received the awaited confirmation of victory in the Race to Dubai, the European classification, at the end of a season of 47 races, in 30 countries and 4 continents. A $1,250 million icing on an already lavish annual cake. The bonus offered by the tour is $5 million for the first ten, $1,250 of which goes to the first.
The final act, at the end of which Francesco collected his prize, was the DP World Tour Championship, at the Jumeirah Golf Estates in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates. The race was won by Danny Willett, while Chicco, perhaps a little tired, finished only 28th. On the other hand, his advantage in the annual standings was such that only defending champion Tommy Fleetwood could have challenged him for the lead.
It didn't happen, because the Englishman, to worry the Italian, should have won, while he stopped in 16th place. In the end, among other things, everyone was happy and the rivalry between the two dissolved in an embrace. Chicco and Tommy are great friends, especially after Ryder, where they formed an unbeatable couple and so solid as to be baptized with the unique name of Mollywood.
“It wasn't easy to play for the money list against Fleetwood – commented Molinari – both because of the relationship we have and because he's very good and at a certain point I even thought he could put me in trouble and win. He is an exceptional boy, he is very talented, he is younger than me and I am sure he will still have many other opportunities ”.
And finally: “This is an incredible moment for me, but now I will have time to sit back, relax and think about what has happened in recent months. When they presented me as the winner of the Open Championship and leader of the Race To Dubai on the tee this morning, it seemed surreal. It's more than I ever imagined I'd achieve. There are many players who I think are better than me who have not yet managed to win a major or the Race To Dubai. To achieve those goals in just one season is simply something exceptional.”
