HUGGAN’S ALLEY:

JOHH HUGGAN

EVERYWHERE outside the ever-inward looking PGA Tour, professional golf in 2018 was unquestionably the “year of Molinari.” By any measure, young Francesco was the outstanding performer over the course of all 12 months. Three victories – the biggest event on the European Tour, the most important event in golf and a maiden win (by eight shots) stateside – were complimented nicely by five points out of five in Old World colours at the Ryder Cup and, not surprisingly, top-spot on the European Tour’s “Race to Dubai.”

Knowing the closeness of their relationship, no one on the planet will have been more pleased at that level of success than Francesco’s older brother, Edoardo. The 2005 US Amateur champion is no mean performer himself, of course. Three times a winner on the European Tour and a Ryder Cup player in 2010 – where the crowd indulged in the inevitable chant of, “there’s only two Molinaris” – the 37-year old Turin-native also teamed with his younger sibling to claim the World Cup for Italy in 2009. So he has something of a track record.

Not so much recently though. A lowly 127th on the aforementioned Race to Dubai last year, Edoardo has won only once since 2010, when victory at the Scottish Open and the Johnnie Walker Championship clinched his Ryder Cup spot. There is much to be said in mitigation, however, not least the string of injuries that have severely blighted a once-burgeoning career.

Still, it says here the time has come for the senior Molinari to turn things round in 2019. Two years on from his last win – the Trophee Hassan in Morocco – this likeable and extrovert character will surely never have had more motivation to succeed. I mean, is there anything more “annoying” than watching as a younger sibling outdoes you at anything?

What is equally certain is that no one in professional golf will apply a more intellectual analysis to his game. The holder of an engineering degree from the University of Turin, Edoardo owns what is almost certainly the highest-IQ in professional golf. In an admittedly un-scientific (and anonymous) poll of European Tour players a couple of years ago he was the overwhelming answer to that question.

So it will come as no surprise to hear that Molinari sr. is a devotee of Mark Broadie’s book, Every Shot Counts. Always one of the superior putters on tour, he is convinced that the long game is the real key to ultimate success in golf. And his argument, backed up by undeniable statistics, is pretty persuasive.

“If the short game is everything, why was it Seve Ballesteros couldn’t play at Tour level for the last few years of his career?” asks Molinari. “And look at the guys who have been No.1 in the world over the last 20 years or so. Only Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, Vijay Singh and Dustin Johnson have been there for any significant length of time. Martin Kaymer, Luke Donald and Lee Westwood all stayed at the top for only a year or so. But here’s the thing. Six of those seven have great long games. Only Luke has a superior short game. And he made it to No.1 by holing ‘every’ putt for a year, which is not a sustainable formula for success.” Think about this, too. “If you had to play against a Tour pro for £100, would you play from five feet away, from just off the green, from 100-yards, from 200-yards over water, or with a driver on a long hole?” continues Molinari. “You would go for the five-foot putt and work out from the hole. So would almost everyone because the shorter the shot, the more chance the inferior player has. I can easily miss the five-foot putt a 24-handicapper has just made. But there is no way I will lose to him hitting a long iron over water.” The inherent logic of such an argument is hard to dispute. Nor is the natural intelligence Molinari applies to every aspect of his game. He’s not above letting you know how smart he is either. Back when that “who has the highest IQ on tour?” question was being asked, he himself took part in the survey.

Before starting, the “quiz master” told the grinning Italian that he was leading in one of the categories. The subsequent conversation went like this:

“Oh really,” he said. “I bet I know which one it is.” “How could you? You haven’t heard the questions yet.”

“Tell you what. I’ll write the question into my phone and at the end we’ll see if I’m right.”

A few minutes later, all questions asked and answered, Molinari held up his phone. On it he had written, “Who is the smartest guy on Tour?” Throw in an uncommon level of dedication – he is regularly amongst the last to leave the range at tournaments – and all of the above will surely see the “other Molinari” make a belated return to the upper echelons of the European Tour. Watch this space.