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A dramatic, scintillating, enthralling Open at Carnoustie eventually ended with Francesco Molinari as a well-deserved Champion Golfer of the Year.
This was the sport at its very finest, with the world’s best players scything through the weather and the foliage on Scotland’s east coast, fighting the elements as much as the mental battle to avoid the clutches of this brutal course.
Molinari’s final-round 69 saw him end on eight-under, two strokes ahead of Justin Rose, Rory McIlroy, Kevin Kisner and Xander Schauffele.
Behind that top five, plenty of golfers were fighting for position on the leaderboard, including a rejuvenated Tiger Woods.
The great man started well with birdies on the fourth and sixth holes to move one ahead of Molinari and top the leaderboard on seven under after nine holes.
The roars that followed Woods’ birdies attracted ever-more fans to the group and by the ninth, dozens were half-running down the side of the fairway to gain a good vantage point. However, a double bogey on the 11th, after hitting a spectator with a wild second shot, and a bogey on the 12th checked Woods’ challenge. He finished tied for sixth on five under.
The 42-year-old has not won a major since the 2008 US Open, with his career interrupted by personal problems and a serious back injury in recent years. Many believed he would never return at all, never mind to the standards he used to set, but glimpses of the old form were on show here and he still has time left as he seeks to chase down Jack Nicklaus’ Major record of 18.
But the day belonged to Molinari, who astonishingly held it together despite being paired with the intimidating Woods and the inevitable fan following, and went bogey-free on both Saturday and Sunday.
“I knew I was coming in playing some good golf but my record round here was terrible,” said the 35-year-old.
“So that didn’t make me too optimistic. To go bogey-free in the last two rounds is unthinkable.”
Molinari, who on Sunday parred his first 13 holes before carding birdies on the 14th and 18th, is the first Italian to win one of the sport’s four majors.
“It’s just disbelief,” he added. “Look at the names on the Claret Jug. It’s the best golfers in history and to be on there, it’s incredible. And, for someone like me, coming from Italy, which is not a major golfing country, it’s been an incredible journey.”
At one point, in what was surely the tightest Open for many years, there were six players tied for the lead and organisers were scratching their heads at the prospect of a mammoth playoff. The fairway of the playoff hole would have looked like a driving range!
It’s fitting really, at one of the Open’s most iconic courses and the one generally regarded as the toughest. One of the most iconic moments in golf history happened here in 1999, when Jean Van de Velde needed only a double-bogey six to win the title and proceeded to knock his ball into the Barry Burn, the ditch separating the fairway from the green. After rolling his trousers up and standing in the ditch in a fruitless endeavour to avoid dropping a shot, he made a triple-bogey seven and lost to Paul Lawrie in the playoff.
Molinari kept his head and his game steady while others faltered around him. One day after a bogey-free round of 65 to share the lead at -9, Jordan Spieth had a birdie-free round at the worst time to tumble down the leaderboard.
Rory McIlroy left his charge too late; too many putts were left wanting during his middle rounds and he gave himself too much to do, as did Justin Rose who had by far the best scores on the last two rounds … but only after making a 20-foot birdie putt on the 18th during his second round to make the cut.
My own tip for the tournament and the Carnoustie course record holder, Tommy Fleetwood, started off brightly with a birdie to share the lead on Sunday morning, but let the round get away from him as he ended up on three-under. The curse continues.
However, after coming second in the US Open, he is surely on the verge of his first major championship and I’ll keep picking him to win. I may be a little biased … we are from the same town and went to the same high school, even though he was in the year above me.
