For two days Tommy Fleetwood and Francesco Molinari were as inseparable as Holmes and Watson (Sherlock and the doctor, not JB and Bubba), but it was the quiet Italian who struck out boldly on his own in the ninth singles match on Sunday to create Ryder Cup history in his dignified and irresistible manner.
His 4&2 dismantling of Phil Mickelson was his fifth win of the 42nd edition of the competition, after four with Fleetwood in the four-balls and foursomes. It drew him alongside the Americans Arnold Palmer and Gardner Dickinson (1967) and Larry Nelson (1979) by completing a sweep of all his matches – and that in the summer when he won the Open at Carnoustie. All that could surpass this high point, surely, would be for Molinari – born in Turin and for years a bona fide Londoner – to repeat the double in 2022, when the Ryder Cup goes to Italy for the first time, at the Marco Simone Golf Club in Rome.
Written by Kevin Mitchell at Le Golf National
This news first appeared on https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2018/sep/30/shy-and-retiring-francesco-molinari-sweeps-clean-at-ryder-cup under the title “Shy and retiring Francesco Molinari sweeps clean in Ryder Cup rout | Kevin Mitchell”. Bolchha Nepal is not responsible or affiliated towards the opinion expressed in this news article.
