Molinari itching to prove he’s no one-season wonder
FRANCESCO MOLINARI knows that winning one more Major will silence the snipers who wrote off his stellar season as a fluke.
But having gone agonisingly close to doing just that at the Masters – when a two-shot lead was drowned in Rae’s Creek on the 12th – the weary Italian admits he has spent the last two months playing catch-up after Augusta sapped both his spirit and his strength.
In a sizzling second half of 2018, Molinari could do no wrong as he stared down a charging Tiger Woods at Carnoustie to win The Open, then stole the limelight at the Ryder Cup by claiming a record five points out of five. Yet still he had to contend with doubters who predicted he would be a one-season wonder, and a recent dip in form has triggered a thousand told-you-sos. But Molinari is confident that he is back to his best now he has adjusted to the demands that come with his new-found star status.
He is too sensible to make any bold predictions this week, or to buy into the suggestion that a course that demands accurate iron play is tailor-made for him.
But if another Major crown does not come this week, or next month when he returns to The Open stage at Royal Portrush, the important thing is that Molinari has his mojo back after shrugging off his Augusta hangover.
The 36-year-old, who is partnered today by defending champion and recently-crowned US PGA winner Brooks Koepka, said: “Some people are viewing my last season as a fluke – that it was a great season but, you know, that’s going to be it.
“They were expecting me not to start the season as well as I’d played last year, so the best part of 2019 so far was winning at Bay Hill and playing well at the Matchplay and then the Masters.
“I don’t care about answering the critics with those performances – there are always going to be people saying stuff that I don’t agree with or don’t like.
“But obviously you are affected by what happens on the course and I’d say Augusta was more than just a setback for me. It cost me a lot of energy and I’ve struggled to recover.
“Winning a Major is lifechanging and it brings new challenges. Just getting used to that was a shock to the system.
“But it’s been almost a year now and I’m getting my head round what I need to do. Learning to say no to people is one of those things because there are still only 24 hours in a day and I need to continue to practise.”
Asked if Pebble Beach plays into his accurate hands, he said: “I’m not a great believer in golf courses fitting particular golfers. It depends more on the form of the player in that given week.”