Fitting end to a spectacular year for Race to Dubai champion Francesco Molinari

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  • Flying out of Jacksonville airport after missing the cut at the Players Championship in May, Francesco Molinari would never have believed what would unfold next in his never-ending season.

    Ranked number 33 in the world, the Italian looked low on confidence and lacking in direction and even a little bit of hope.

    Fast forward six months and the balmy heat of Dubai, the 37-year-old’s name is now pursed on everyone’s lips again after becoming the first Italian to lift the Race to Dubai title after a glittering second half of the season.

    Going into the DP World Tour Championship this weekend, his best friend Tommy Fleetwood was the only other player who could have taken the Order of Merit crown – he needed to win the tournament with Molinari finishing outside the top-five.

    Fleetwood, however, could only finish on 10 under in a tie for 16th alongside Xander Schauffele, with Molinari four shots back in a tie for 26th.

    Although Molinari may have been disappointed with his performance, he still caps off his finest ever season in 14 years as a professional golfer. There were some great times through the years between successful Ryder Cup teams and various European Tour wins. But none more so than the consistency and composure he showed to clinch a first major at the Open Championship in July and then follow it up nine weeks later to become the first European to win all five matches at the Ryder Cup.

    Two weeks after missing the cut at the Players Championship, the Turin native closed with a stunning 69 to claim a two-shot victory over Rory McIlroy in the BMW PGA Championship, the European Tour’s flagship event at Wentworth.

    It was at the Surrey course where signs of his class began to shine, dropping only two shots throughout the weekend – one of them on the first hole of the first round – and did not score a bogey over his final 44 holes.

    The following week he headed for the Italian Open in Brescia, where he posted three successive five-under par 66s before improving again on the final round to finish on 21 under. But, it was only enough for second place behind Denmark’s Thorbjorn Olesen, who sealed victory by one shot.

    Then after a solid 24th place finish at the US Open, Molinari decided to take the third week of June off and link up with coaching guru Phil Kenyon to iron out some minor issues with his putting. The short break from competition worked wonders and he returned to action the following weekend with a scintillating first PGA Tour win at the Quicken Loans National in Maryland.

    Rounds of 67, 65, 65 and 62 saw the London resident finish at 21 under par, a convincing eight shots clear of second place Ryan Armour and 10 ahead of Tiger Woods. A record performance.

    Signs of his hard work off the course were beginning to shine in Maryland, with his putting on song and parts of his mental game looking flawless. In past years when things might not have been going his way, he’d drop the head and crumble under the intense pressure. However, with performance coach Dave Alred in his corner, he has been able to avoid letting outside influences affect him and back his abilities in being a world class player.

    A tie for second finish at the John Deere Classic in Illinois provided the perfect platform as Molinari arrived for the final major of the year in Carnoustie in red-hot form. Backed by strong displays Stateside, he produced an assured performance to become the first Italian to win a major title.

    His stellar eight-under total of 276 was enough to finish two shots ahead of Justin Rose and Rory McIlroy. And to further underline his putting prowess and world class ability he played the final 37 holes on the toughest links course in golf without a bogey.

    The win capped off his best stretch of golf in his career, with three wins, two runners-up and a major triumph moving him to number six in the world. It also highlighted his status as one of the biggest names in the game.

    A short break awaits golf’s elite before the new European Tour season gets underway again next week in Hong Kong, but the new Race to Dubai champion must now build on his 2018 form in a bid to squeeze even more out of his vast talents.

    If he can carry himself the same way he has on and off the course this year, there is no doubt that he can win more majors and PGA Tour competitions, and even inspire Europe to further glory at Whistling Straits in 2020.

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