EUROPEAN CHALLENGE TOUR
More Molinari magic lands him
Italian Federation Cup triumph
From Challenge Tour Press Officer Paul Symes
Edoardo Molinari captured his third Challenge Tour title of the season in gripping fashion, with a 30ft birdie putt on the 72nd hole of the Italian Federation Cup which saw him to maintain his 100 per cent record on home soil this year.
Trailing overnight leader Nicolas Colsaerts by one stroke with one hole to play, Molinari knew he needed something special to delight the home crowds at Olgiata GC in Rome, Italy. Hope seemed to be fading when he could only find the left edge of the green with his approach, but Molinari rose to the occasion with a perfectly-weighted putt which snaked into the hole for a flawless round of 66 and a 21 under par total.
Behind him, Colsaerts had found the fairway but was impeded by overhanging branches for his second shot, which fell short of the green to leave him a testing chip. The Belgian failed to get up the up and down he needed to force a play-off and so the title went to Molinari, whose €24,000 winner’s cheque took his season’s earnings to an incredible €231,879.
The 28 year old from Turin will now head to the season-ending Apulia San Domenico intent on capturing his fourth title of the campaign and his third on home soil, having already triumphed at the Piemonte Open and Kazakhstan Open earlier in the year.
Molinari, who recently treated himself to a new Audi sports car as a reward for his record-breaking season, said: “Finally I managed to win a tournament in the last couple of holes, which makes up for Denmark and Colombia, where I lost on the last day. It was a fantastic moment when that putt dropped on the last hole. I’d had that exact same putt in the practice round, so I knew the pace and how it would break. I hit it on the right line, and once it rolled down the small tier I knew it had a great chance.
“Today was probably the most difficult of the four days, because the wind was very strong at times. So after the first few holes, I thought 18 under would have a good chance, but then when I reached that with a birdie at the 12th, I just pressed on. I didn’t look at any leaderboards until the 18th green, when I saw Nicolas was on 21 under par. So I knew I needed to make the putt, and when it dropped in I was pretty happy to say the least.
“There were a lot of people following is today, so it felt extra special to win. That putt on the last was the cherry on the cake, and I hope everyone went home happy. It’s nice to come from behind to win, although I feel a little for Nicolas. He played fantastically well – to shoot under par today was a great score in the conditions. He bought me dinner last night to say thank you for giving him a lift to the golf course every day, so it’ll be my turn to treat him next week!”
Colsaerts could console himself with a runner’s up cheque for €16,500, which moved him closer in the Challenge Tour Rankings to third-placed José-Filipe Lima of Portugal.
He said: “I gave it a great go, and in the end it wasn’t quite enough. I was obviously disappointed with the finish, but I’m still happy with how I played over the four days. Hopefully I’ll get Edoardo back by winning the Grand Final next week!”
A round of 71 saw Welshman Rhys Davies finish third on 16 under par to climb to sixth place in the Rankings, but perhaps the most significant move was made by his compatriot Stuart Manley, who climbed from 48th to 36th to secure a berth in the season finale.
In contrast to the Welshman’s joy, Norwegian Jan-Are Larsen could only despair after his missed cut meant he fell two places to 47th position. England’s Adam Gee took the 45th and final place, as he finished just €1,574 ahead of unlucky “loser” Carl Suneson of Spain.
Wales’ Llewellyn Matthews also had reasons to celebrate after he became the second Challenge Tour player this season to record an albatross, as he holed his second shot on the fifth hole.
Scott Jamieson was the leading Scot in joint 11th place on 278 with steady rounds of 68, 70, 69 and 71 to finish 11 shots behind the winner.
FINAL TOTALS
Par 288 (4x72)
267 E Molinari (Ita) 66 67 68 66,
268 N Colsaerts (Bel) 68 66 66 68,
272 R Davies (Wal) 66 68 67 71,
273 S Manley (Wal) 70 70 67 66,
274 F Andersson Hed (Swe) 69 68 64 73,
275 B Hebert (Fra) 74 67 67 67, S Thornton (Irl) 65 69 70 71,
276 P Gustafsson (Swe) 70 66 70 70,
277 A Mellor (Eng) 72 69 66 70, T Olesen (Den) 70 68 66 73,
278 J Sjöholm (Swe) 69 69 67 73, C Russo (Fra) 70 66 72 70, S Jamieson (Sco) 68 70 69 71, J Quesne (Fra) 71 69 67 71,
279 R Coles (Eng) 69 68 73 69, A Tampion (Aus) 68 68 71 72, J Caldwell (Nir) 69 70 71 69,
280 M Haastrup (Den) 66 70 71 73, J Parry (Eng) 71 70 69 70, C Gane (Eng) 69 71 69 71,
281 J Morrison (Eng) 73 68 68 72, I Pyman (Eng) 71 70 66 74, G Boyd (Eng) 70 70 69 72, P Kaensche (Nor) 73 70 70 68,
282 K Sullivan (Wal) 74 69 72 67, R Santos (Por) 69 70 69 74, A Kaleka (Fra) 69 74 68 71, F Colombo (Ita) 73 67 70 72, O Floren (Swe) 71 70 71 70, V Riu (Fra) 67 72 73 70,
283 M Wiegele (Aut) 73 70 68 72, C Moriarty (Irl) 69 71 70 73, J Guerrier (Fra) 72 70 70 71, G Molteni (Ita) 69 74 72 68,
284 D Denison (Eng) 71 68 70 75, M Korhonen (Fin) 70 72 67 75, F De Vries (Ned) 74 69 71 70, G Houston (Wal) 72 68 70 74, P Whiteford (Sco) 67 73 74 70, J Grillon (Fra) 68 74 69 73, S Bebb (Wal) 69 72 69 74,
285 R Saxton (Ned) 70 71 67 77, B Mason (Eng) 70 73 72 70, B Pettersson (Swe) 69 71 69 76, N Bertasio (am) (Ita) 71 70 68 76,
286 A Bernadet (Fra) 70 70 72 74, C Suneson (Esp) 72 71 73 70,
287 J McLeary (Sco) 68 73 74 72, L James (Eng) 71 70 76 70, C Monasterio (Arg) 71 70 70 76, A Bossert (Sui) 72 70 74 71, P Terreni (Ita) 74 69 70 74,
288 F Praegant (Aut) 72 70 73 73, L Matthews (Wal) 71 71 74 72, A Maestroni (Ita) 72 70 74 72,
289 J Moul (Eng) 73 68 74 74,
290 M Crespi (Ita) 72 70 71 77, J Wahlqvist (Swe) 70 70 77 73, E Lattanzi (Ita) 70 73 75 72,
292 M Bernardini (Ita) 72 70 74 76, M McGeady (Irl) 71 69 73 79, L Gagli (Ita) 72 71 73 76
Italian Federation Cup triumph
From Challenge Tour Press Officer Paul Symes
Edoardo Molinari captured his third Challenge Tour title of the season in gripping fashion, with a 30ft birdie putt on the 72nd hole of the Italian Federation Cup which saw him to maintain his 100 per cent record on home soil this year.
Trailing overnight leader Nicolas Colsaerts by one stroke with one hole to play, Molinari knew he needed something special to delight the home crowds at Olgiata GC in Rome, Italy. Hope seemed to be fading when he could only find the left edge of the green with his approach, but Molinari rose to the occasion with a perfectly-weighted putt which snaked into the hole for a flawless round of 66 and a 21 under par total.
Behind him, Colsaerts had found the fairway but was impeded by overhanging branches for his second shot, which fell short of the green to leave him a testing chip. The Belgian failed to get up the up and down he needed to force a play-off and so the title went to Molinari, whose €24,000 winner’s cheque took his season’s earnings to an incredible €231,879.
The 28 year old from Turin will now head to the season-ending Apulia San Domenico intent on capturing his fourth title of the campaign and his third on home soil, having already triumphed at the Piemonte Open and Kazakhstan Open earlier in the year.
Molinari, who recently treated himself to a new Audi sports car as a reward for his record-breaking season, said: “Finally I managed to win a tournament in the last couple of holes, which makes up for Denmark and Colombia, where I lost on the last day. It was a fantastic moment when that putt dropped on the last hole. I’d had that exact same putt in the practice round, so I knew the pace and how it would break. I hit it on the right line, and once it rolled down the small tier I knew it had a great chance.
“Today was probably the most difficult of the four days, because the wind was very strong at times. So after the first few holes, I thought 18 under would have a good chance, but then when I reached that with a birdie at the 12th, I just pressed on. I didn’t look at any leaderboards until the 18th green, when I saw Nicolas was on 21 under par. So I knew I needed to make the putt, and when it dropped in I was pretty happy to say the least.
“There were a lot of people following is today, so it felt extra special to win. That putt on the last was the cherry on the cake, and I hope everyone went home happy. It’s nice to come from behind to win, although I feel a little for Nicolas. He played fantastically well – to shoot under par today was a great score in the conditions. He bought me dinner last night to say thank you for giving him a lift to the golf course every day, so it’ll be my turn to treat him next week!”
Colsaerts could console himself with a runner’s up cheque for €16,500, which moved him closer in the Challenge Tour Rankings to third-placed José-Filipe Lima of Portugal.
He said: “I gave it a great go, and in the end it wasn’t quite enough. I was obviously disappointed with the finish, but I’m still happy with how I played over the four days. Hopefully I’ll get Edoardo back by winning the Grand Final next week!”
A round of 71 saw Welshman Rhys Davies finish third on 16 under par to climb to sixth place in the Rankings, but perhaps the most significant move was made by his compatriot Stuart Manley, who climbed from 48th to 36th to secure a berth in the season finale.
In contrast to the Welshman’s joy, Norwegian Jan-Are Larsen could only despair after his missed cut meant he fell two places to 47th position. England’s Adam Gee took the 45th and final place, as he finished just €1,574 ahead of unlucky “loser” Carl Suneson of Spain.
Wales’ Llewellyn Matthews also had reasons to celebrate after he became the second Challenge Tour player this season to record an albatross, as he holed his second shot on the fifth hole.
Scott Jamieson was the leading Scot in joint 11th place on 278 with steady rounds of 68, 70, 69 and 71 to finish 11 shots behind the winner.
FINAL TOTALS
Par 288 (4x72)
267 E Molinari (Ita) 66 67 68 66,
268 N Colsaerts (Bel) 68 66 66 68,
272 R Davies (Wal) 66 68 67 71,
273 S Manley (Wal) 70 70 67 66,
274 F Andersson Hed (Swe) 69 68 64 73,
275 B Hebert (Fra) 74 67 67 67, S Thornton (Irl) 65 69 70 71,
276 P Gustafsson (Swe) 70 66 70 70,
277 A Mellor (Eng) 72 69 66 70, T Olesen (Den) 70 68 66 73,
278 J Sjöholm (Swe) 69 69 67 73, C Russo (Fra) 70 66 72 70, S Jamieson (Sco) 68 70 69 71, J Quesne (Fra) 71 69 67 71,
279 R Coles (Eng) 69 68 73 69, A Tampion (Aus) 68 68 71 72, J Caldwell (Nir) 69 70 71 69,
280 M Haastrup (Den) 66 70 71 73, J Parry (Eng) 71 70 69 70, C Gane (Eng) 69 71 69 71,
281 J Morrison (Eng) 73 68 68 72, I Pyman (Eng) 71 70 66 74, G Boyd (Eng) 70 70 69 72, P Kaensche (Nor) 73 70 70 68,
282 K Sullivan (Wal) 74 69 72 67, R Santos (Por) 69 70 69 74, A Kaleka (Fra) 69 74 68 71, F Colombo (Ita) 73 67 70 72, O Floren (Swe) 71 70 71 70, V Riu (Fra) 67 72 73 70,
283 M Wiegele (Aut) 73 70 68 72, C Moriarty (Irl) 69 71 70 73, J Guerrier (Fra) 72 70 70 71, G Molteni (Ita) 69 74 72 68,
284 D Denison (Eng) 71 68 70 75, M Korhonen (Fin) 70 72 67 75, F De Vries (Ned) 74 69 71 70, G Houston (Wal) 72 68 70 74, P Whiteford (Sco) 67 73 74 70, J Grillon (Fra) 68 74 69 73, S Bebb (Wal) 69 72 69 74,
285 R Saxton (Ned) 70 71 67 77, B Mason (Eng) 70 73 72 70, B Pettersson (Swe) 69 71 69 76, N Bertasio (am) (Ita) 71 70 68 76,
286 A Bernadet (Fra) 70 70 72 74, C Suneson (Esp) 72 71 73 70,
287 J McLeary (Sco) 68 73 74 72, L James (Eng) 71 70 76 70, C Monasterio (Arg) 71 70 70 76, A Bossert (Sui) 72 70 74 71, P Terreni (Ita) 74 69 70 74,
288 F Praegant (Aut) 72 70 73 73, L Matthews (Wal) 71 71 74 72, A Maestroni (Ita) 72 70 74 72,
289 J Moul (Eng) 73 68 74 74,
290 M Crespi (Ita) 72 70 71 77, J Wahlqvist (Swe) 70 70 77 73, E Lattanzi (Ita) 70 73 75 72,
292 M Bernardini (Ita) 72 70 74 76, M McGeady (Irl) 71 69 73 79, L Gagli (Ita) 72 71 73 76
Labels: CHALLENGE TOUR
posted by Colin |
See story on its own page | Sunday, October 25, 2009
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