Washington proves the right move for Molinari
Francesco Molinari was torn between Paris and Washington until the last minute.
But yesterday there was no doubt he had made the right decision, his name on a silver trophy in the shape of the US Capitol, the lowest 72-hole score of his career and a stretch of golf that was close to flawless.
“The thought was just to keep pushing, keep making birdies and don’t give anyone a chance,” said Molinari.
He faced a 15-foot par putt on the ninth hole that he poured into the centre.
He hit a 6-iron to 2 feet for birdie on No 11, one of the hardest par 4s on the PGA Tour which had yielded only one other birdie all day.
Three birdies later, he was nine shots clear and on his way to victory in the Quicken Loans National. Molinari picked the PGA Tour because he was No 123 in the FedEx Cup and wanted to improve his position, especially after missing the Tour Championship by what amounted to one shot last year.
“Seems like it was the right choice in the end,” he said.
He finished at 21-under 259, breaking the tournament record by seven shots. He won by eight shots over Ryan Armour, matching the largest margin of victory this year on the PGA Tour.
Tiger Woods tied for fourth, his best result since a runner-up finish at the Valspar Championship three months ago, though he was 10 shots behind.
Armour closed with a 68 to finish second, earning one of four spots to the British Open.
The other three spots went to Sung Kang, who finished third after a 64; Abraham Ancer, who tied for fourth after a 72; and Bronson Burgoon, who had a day he won’t forget.
He played with Woods for the first time, with larger crowds and louder noise than he had ever experienced.
And with a birdie on the final hole for a 67, he tied for sixth to earn his first trip to the British Open.