Willett philosophical after Italy
DANNY Willett refused to feel disheartened after he came out on the wrong side of an enthralling final-day battle with Francesco Molinari at the Italian Open.
The duo came into the final round tied at the top of the leaderboard on 16 under but after an eagle-birdie start, Molinari moved ahead to establish a four-shot lead with six holes to play.
Willett hit back by going birdie-eagle on the 13th and 14th to set up a dramatic finish and, while both men showed signs of nerves on the closing stretch, Molinari hit a brilliant recovery on the last after a poor teeshot to edge out Willett by a shot.
The Englishman played his final 69 holes without a bogey as he took his aggregate total for eight rounds at Golf Club Milano to 39 under, and he had no reluctance in admitting he was simply beaten by the better player on the day.
“It was good,” he said. “It’s obviously disappointing to lose by one but Frankie came flying out of the blocks and made it very difficult for me to catch him.
“I managed to make it really interesting with the birdie on 13 and the eagle on 14 and at that point I thought I had a chance.
“But I hit a couple of loose shots on the way in, and fair play to Frankie because he played some great golf under unbelievable pressure.
“I’ve shot a 66 on the final day and finished on 21 under, so I can’t be too hard on myself because there’s not much more I could’ve done.
“Sometimes you just have to hold your hands up and admit you got beat by the better player on the day.
“If you finish a golf tournament 21 under par and you lose, I don’t think you can be too disheartened about it.
“You pitch up round here and your stroke average is 65 and you lose. It’s one of those things, we’re 40 under par for the two times we’ve played this tournament in eight rounds of golf so to finish third and second, hopefully it’s here next year and we can go one better.
“Frankie played fantastic, had a great day and today wasn’t meant for us.”
A large crowd followed Molinari and Willett around the course and they were not scared to show their support for the home hero who won his national Open for the second time.
The Masters Tournament champion was full of credit for the Italian spectators and believes they can help him prepare for the next time he will tee it up in anger, at Hazeltine in the Ryder Cup.
“Against Frankie in Italy is tough,” he said. “I’m sure it’s going to be 100 times worse when we get to the Ryder Cup in America but it’s been a little bit of a taster.
“It’s been good to play under that pressure and be under the gun and be in contention.”
Chris Paisley was another player not dissatisfied with his week as a tie for third secured his playing privileges for next season.
The Englishman moved from 123rd to 72nd in the Race to Dubai and, after finishing 108th last year, was delighted to seal his card with events to spare.
“It’s a fantastic result, especially given how my season has gone,” he said. “It’s been a bit of a struggle and it was looking bleak to keep my card.
“I spoke to my wife last week and I told her I was going to lock my card up over these two weeks, so to do it in one hit is incredible.
“I can relax now and try to freewheel a bit more and maybe get a win under my belt.
“It’s been a really long week but it’s ended with a big smile on my face so I couldn’t be happier.” – European Tour.com