Woods rises from troubled outsider to Ryder Cup shoo-in
Molinari insists that the 14-time major winner is a ‘strong force’ again after their Open battle
Tiger Woods will win at least one more major and can be a force at this year’s Ryder Cup. These were the thoughts of Francesco Molinari, a day after going head-to-head with the American and emerging with the Open Championship.
The Italian’s verdict will no doubt add yet more fuel to two debates that are already raging. The first is turning into the age-old question of whether Woods will forever be rooted to 14 majors and if the fact that he held the lead with nine holes to go at Carnoustie on Sunday, but then fell to sixth, makes it more or less likely.
Yet in the short-term, the more pressing query is whether US captain Jim Furyk should hand Woods a wild-card selection for the Paris match in two months’ time.
That proposition would have seemed utterly preposterous six months ago, in the wake of his spinal-fusion surgery and his dependency on prescription medication, but following Carnoustie, bookmakers are now convinced he is an almost certainty – at odds of 1-5 – to to be at Le Golf National in the unprecedented dual role of vice-captain and player.
Woods made the most notable rise in the US standings last week, jumping from 31st to 20th and, as he missed the start of the qualifying race, his points won to tournaments played ratio easily puts him in the guaranteed top eight. So it would represent a sizeable shock and controversy if Furyk were to overlook him, regardless of his average Ryder Cup record.
“We can all see that Tiger is back as a strong force in these events,” Molinari said. “I thought it was funny when I heard players like Jordan Spieth saying it would be great to have Tiger involved in a real shoot-out at the majors again. Be careful what you wish for! For me, it is not something you wish for and makes things even harder. I really think he will win more majors because he is getting better and stronger all the time.”
Woods could still capture one of the automatic Ryder Cup spots and the fact that he has re-entered the world’s top 50 because of his best major finish in five years, could be very significant.
It earned him an 11th-hour berth in next week’s WGC Bridgestone Invitational in Akron. In May, he announced it was his ambition to make the field, if only because he has won the event eight times and this is the last time it will be staged at his beloved Firestone course. And this mission accomplished presents Woods with two opportunities to garner enough points to leapfrog Webb Simpson, who is holding on to the final automatic qualification place.
The USPGA follows Akron and, although he will have to remedy his driver to figure at St Louis, the least he can do is provide his captain with further evidence. Do not be surprised if Furyk makes an early call. He will not want this issue to overshadow the build-up.
Because of Italy’s history with Woods in the Ryder Cup, Molinari could be forgiven for wanting him there, and, indeed, yearning for another rematch.
In 1997, at Valderrama, Costantino Rocca defeated Woods 4 & 2 and in 2012, the last time Woods and indeed Molinari played, they halved in the final match which gave Europe the famous “Miracle of Medinah” win. “It’s funny how he seems to be involved in some of the greatest moments for Italian golf,” Molinari said.
“Rocca’s win over him was huge news in Italy, then I had a half with him in the singles at Medinah, then I won the tournament he promotes [the Quicken Loans National] for my first win in America and now I played alongside him and won the Claret Jug. Now it’s over, I can admit it makes it even more special that I was playing alongside Tiger when I won the Open, and that he was like the old Tiger.”
Molinari has made huge news of his own in his homeland and awoke yesterday to find out just how huge. As well as a cheque for £1.45million, he is assured of a third Ryder Cup appearance and that is so well-timed, not only for Thomas Bjorn, the Europe captain, who witnessed the US’S winning streak in majors end at five, but also for the nation which hosts its first Ryder Cup in four years’ time.
“I saw some of the Italian papers and my win was on the front pages, so hopefully people are excited about golf,” Molinari said. “The sport is not big in Italy, so myself and [his brother] Edoardo always felt we had to prove ourselves a little bit more, that we really belonged, and maybe that fighting spirit helped me achieve this.
“I think my win will be a good thing for the Ryder Cup this year, and for 2022. One of the text messages I had was from Thomas Bjorn, saying congratulations and, ‘Keep playing like this until at least the end of September’. I don’t know if that is possible – but I will give it a try.”
Molinari will be world No1 if he does. In his past six events, the 35-year-old has won three times and finished runner-up twice. In Justin Rose’s words, “Frankie is the game’s hottest player” and has the confidence to continue his rise.
“It showed I can handle the pressure, and hopefully there will be other big wins to come. For now I cannot wait to get back to London to show the Claret Jug to my children, and see if they realise just how much this means. And I have to take it back to Italy as soon as possible to show the rest of my family.
“It was a long night last night and not much sleep – about three hours. It wasn’t too wild, just me, my wife, my caddie, my agent and some friends having a few drinks and telling stories about the week. It was nice to stay up late toasting it with champagne and clinking the glasses against the spot where my name is engraved.”