USA TODAY US Edition

Red-hot Molinari wins British Open

- Steve DiMeglio

CARNOUSTIE, Scotland – Three weeks ago, Tiger Woods handed Francesco Molinari the championsh­ip hardware after he blitzed the field to win the Quicken Loans National.

On Sunday, Woods walked alongside Molinari as the quiet Italian conquered a leaderboar­d full of the game’s biggest stars and got the best of big, bad Carnoustie en route to the Claret Jug.

In becoming the Champion Golfer of the Year in the 147th playing of the British Open, Molinari took his accustomed position in the shadows for much of the week, a place he doesn’t mind but now might come to miss after his stellar work on this ancient links stole the spotlight from the likes of Tiger, Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth and Justin Rose.

For Molinari’s stardom is on the uptick after rounds of 70-72-65-69 left him at 8 under and two clear of the field. While his storyline was somewhat lost among the treasure trove of narratives involving the A-list stars, no one has played better golf in the past two months than Molinari, for he has won three tournament­s and finished second in two others in six starts.

“It’s amazing to stand here with the Claret Jug. I knew I was coming in with some good golf, but my record around here was terrible. That didn’t make me too optimistic about the week, but I just tried to not think about it and focus on hitting good shots day by day,” said Molinari, who toppled Rose (69), McIlroy

(70), Kevin Kisner (74) and Xander Schauffele (74) to win by two.

Woods took the lead on the 11th — his first outright lead in a major since the

2009 PGA Championsh­ip — and shot 71 to finish in a tie for sixth.

Molinari closed with a brilliant birdie from 7 feet on the beastly finishing hole to secure his victory. He will jump to a career-high sixth in the world rankings after winning his ninth tournament worldwide and going bogey-free on the weekend, which, on this course, should come with a trophy of some sort. He hit a lot of good shots, relied on a stellar driver, a masterful short game and a solid putter.

And he had control of his emotions throughout.

“Playing with Tiger was another challenge because of the crowds and everything,” Molinari said. “But I felt really good this morning. When I came here, I felt I was ready for the challenge. I’m lost for words really. Incredible to do something like this, and very proud of what I’ve done.”

While Molinari has never looked better, the same can be said of Woods since he began his latest comeback. This Open ignited on a spectacula­r Saturday when Woods shot 66, woke up this sleepy gray burg and gave himself a legitimate chance to win.

It was the best he’s looked since emerging from an abyss of physical agony, mental anguish and spiritual loss, much of it self-inflicted, and he was the Tiger of old again, not an old Tiger as all facets of his game were working and he got the best of Carnoustie.

With his game and emotions on point, he had a chance, which is all he’s wanted in this comeback. A chance to compete again. A chance to win again.

First, there were baby steps after last year’s spinal fusion surgery to make sure his broken-down body was whole again. Then there were small strides on the practice ground with his short irons, then with his longer clubs. Then came confidence boosters and moral victories one tournament at a time, a few where he was in contention to win for the first time since 2013.

And lo and behold, there was Woods briefly tied for the lead in the third round and then with the outright lead on the back nine Sunday. But a double-bogey on the 11th after two errant iron shots and a bogey on the 12th after another couple of poor irons left him with too tall a task to overcome.

“A little ticked off at myself for sure. I had a chance starting that back nine to do something, and I didn’t do it,” Woods said. “I did everything the way I thought I needed to do it to win the championsh­ip. This entire week, I felt like I needed to keep building my way into this championsh­ip. There were a bunch of guys packed, a bunch of guys with a chance to win, and I was one of them.”

Woods moved to 50th in the world rankings, the first time he’s been that high since 2015. That ranking gets him into the World Golf Championsh­ips-Bridgeston­e Invitation­al in two weeks at Firestone Country Club in Akron, Ohio, where he’s won a record eight times. The week after he’ll play the PGA Championsh­ip at Bellerive Country Club west of St. Louis.

He might be joined in either locale by Sam and Charlie, his two kids. They were waiting for Tiger after he walked off the 18th green. He got two big hugs from the kids, easing the loss and leading him to say he had a blast this past week.

“I know that they know how much this championsh­ip means to me and how much it feels good to be back playing again,” said Woods, who was bedridden 16 months ago and wondering if he’d ever play golf again. “I’ve won a lot of golf tournament­s in my career, but they don’t remember any of them. The only thing they’ve seen is my struggles and the pain I was going through. Now they just want to go play soccer with me. That’s just such a great feeling.

“I need to try and keep it in perspectiv­e because, at the beginning of the year, if they’d have said you’re playing the Open Championsh­ip, I would have said I’d be very lucky to do that. I know that it’s going to sting for a little bit here, but given where I was to where I’m at now, I’m blessed.”

 ?? STEVE FLYNN/USA TODAY SPORTS ?? Francesco Molinari shows off the Claret Jug after winning the British Open Championsh­ip on Sunday at Carnoustie Golf Links in Scotland.
STEVE FLYNN/USA TODAY SPORTS Francesco Molinari shows off the Claret Jug after winning the British Open Championsh­ip on Sunday at Carnoustie Golf Links in Scotland.

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