Cheers Francesco for a deserved triumph and saving us from Tiger
Francesco Molinari. Remember him? You could be forgiven for not, given the clamour to acclaim Tiger Woods’ tie for sixth at the British Open.
There won’t be a dry eye among men of a certain age should Woods ever win again.
It’s 10 years since Woods, 42, claimed a major. You have to go back to 2013 to find a tournament victory of any sort.
Unlike Molinari, whose twostroke win at the British Open was his third since May. There were a couple of second placings in that span too. If anyone deserved a few pats on the back after Carnoustie, then it was the 35-year-old Italian.
He did quite a job just to stay upright at the Open. After all, the mythology goes that grown men faint at the sight of Woods on a Sunday leaderboard, resplendent in the old red shirt and black strides combo.
It certainly made the odd writer swoon, as they romanticised about Woods’ even-par final round and what a marvellous thing it was for golf and ensured his favouritism for the final major of the season.
Those raging against the dying of the light appear to see something of themselves in Woods. It’s an odd phenomenon and hard to sympathise with.
At his best, Woods was a force of nature. He won tournaments through sheer will and genuinely appeared to frighten his rivals.
But he was also thoroughly unlikeable, let alone, as we later learned, a less than ideal husband.
Suddenly warming to such a cold, charmless character doesn’t seem right.
Woods can smile and parade his children and profess all the vulnerability he likes now, but he was a very poor winner. They say this comeback, of sorts, is great for golf but it’s debatable whether galleries who greet his every shot by yelling something inane are really that terrific.
People’s behaviour when they’re on top is always telling. In modern times, few athletes have dominated their sports, and the world stage, quite like Woods and cyclist Lance Armstrong.
Neither were particularly appealing, but winning blinds folk to a multitude of sins, at least for a time.
Armstrong was always a bully, but eventually had cheat added to his repertoire.
It’s interesting to see how the heirs to his cycling throne, Team Sky, have behaved of late. Tactically they ride the Tour de France in the same way as Armstrong’s teams did and have become similarly obnoxious.
Gianni Moscon was expelled from the tour for punching another rider, while team general manager Dave Brailsford has taken to insulting all and sundry.
Closer to home, we’ve watched various incarnations of the Australia cricket team win match after match in increasingly boorish fashion. Retirement, and the need for a comfortable commentary gig, seems to bring out a softer side in them, but doesn’t change the way they behaved as players.
It’ll be a shock if Molinari develops a God complex and churns through wives and partners or begins abusing the competition. He’s not some brute who overpowers golf courses or snaps at the gallery. He’s just an ordinary, apparently very decent, relatable figure who’s easy to warm to.
You could certainly get mistyeyed about less deserving sportsmen than him.