Francesco Molinari is on the way back

Francesco Molinari. Picture: Getty Images

Francesco Molinari is an Italian professional golfer that plays both on the PGA and DP World Tour.

He played with his brother Eduardo at the 2010 Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor in Wales. The hallmark of Molinari’s game is his unerring accuracy from the tee and his consistent approach play. His solid swing is a product of his work with his long-time coach Denis Pugh.

Dave Alred is a performance coach and is famous for working with Jonny Wilkinson as England won the 2003 World Cup. Molinari started working with Alred in 2018 and it worked massively as the Italian won the 2018 BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth.

Molinari went into The 147th Open in good form after winning the Quicken Loans National in June 2018. He had a fantastic third round of 65 at Carnoustie to give himself a fighting chance of winning his first major.

The final round conditions at Carnoustie were difficult due to a blustery wind but Molinari shot a bogey-free round of two under to win his first major. This win was remarkable as the Italian got the better of Jordan Spieth, Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy in the final round.

Molinari played a massive role in the 2018 Ryder Cup at Paris National as Europe captain Thomas Bjorn paired him up with Tommy Fleetwood for both the fourballs & foursomes.

He made history at Paris National as he became the first European to win five points at a Ryder Cup. He hit a purple patch of form as he went to sixth in the world golf rankings after his win at The Open. He finished 2018 in style as Molinari won the Race to Dubai on the European Tour.

He continued his great form in early 2019 as he won the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill. The Italian shot a superb final round of eight under to win his third event on the PGA Tour.

He went into the 2019 Masters in great form and held the 54-hole lead by two shots over Tony Finau and Tiger Woods. The final round would be a huge test with 15-time major champion Tiger Woods breathing down his neck.

He ended up shooting a final round of 74 to finish in a tie for fifth.

It took a long time for Molinari to get over a final-round collapse at The Masters. The 2020 season was condensed due to Covid-19 restrictions but Molinari lost his form as he missed the cut six times throughout 2021 on the PGA Tour.

He continued to struggle in 2022 as he only achieved one top-ten finish on the DP World Tour at BMW PGA Championship. In January 2023 Molinari was ranked 164th in the world golf rankings and Molinari is too talented to be outside the top 100 in the world.

It wasn’t too long ago that Molinari was winning the biggest tournaments in the world and the poor results are down to losing a bit of confidence in his game.

The 2023 Ryder Cup is due to be held in Rome which is Molinari’s home country. He represented Continental Europe as captain at the first-ever Hero Cup on the DP World Tour.

Molinari played a key role as captain for Continental Europe as he defeated Shane Lowry in the singles. His role in Continental Europe winning the first Hero Cup gave him a confidence boost for the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship.

The Italian showed that class is permanent as he was tied for the lead on 13 under after 54 holes of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship. He shot a final round of one under to finish in the top five on 14 under.

Molinari is in the field for the Dubai Desert Classic which starts on Thursday. The Italian will be looking to continue his good form from both the Hero Cup and Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship at the Dubai Desert Classic. Molinari looks determined to either make Luke Donald’s Ryder Cup team on merit or as a wildcard pick.