- Italian completes bogey-free round to claim €1 million first prize.
- McIlroy fails to capitalise on blistering start to flagship tournament.
-
111,112 golf fans witness supreme exhibition of golf
throughout the week.
Italy’s Francesco Molinari displayed a cool head and a razor-sharp
game to see off the challenge of Rory McIlroy in the final round of
the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth. Molinari, who started the day
tied with the Northern Irishman at the top of the leaderboard, took
control early in the round and then refused to release his grip on one
of the most coveted trophies in professional golf. In the end, he was
in cruise control.
Where McIlroy, who had led by three after 36 holes, was wayward off
the tee, Molinari was precise and measured. He first opened a gap
over the world No.8 and pre-tournament favourite with a birdie at the
3rd hole and extended the lead to three with two more, at
the 4th and 8th.
With an outward half of 32, he came home in 36 for a 17-under-par
total of 271 and victory by two strokes over McIlroy (70) and three
over Alex Noren (SWE), the 2017 champion, and Lucas Bjerregaard (DEN),
the first round leader.
“If feels amazing,” the delighted winner said. “I have been close
many times and now I’ve finally got across the line. If I picked one
tournament to win, it would be the BMW PGA Championship.” With the
trophy came a first prize of €1 million.
On presenting Molinari with the trophy, Dr Ian Robertson, BMW Group,
said: “I would like to offer my heartfelt congratulations to Francesco
for a fantastic victory in the 2018 BMW PGA Championship.
“I would like to say how honoured we are to be the title partner of
this flagship event for the fourteenth consecutive year. There is such
a great atmosphere here. This venue always has a special feeling and
you can really sense everyone’s passion for this championship.
“During a week with phenomenal displays of tenacity and athleticism,
backed by incredible crowds, I think we can agree that the BMW PGA
Championship exceeded all expectations.”
With Molinari and McIlroy holding a lead of four strokes over their
nearest challengers, the final day was billed as a two-horse race. By
halfway, however, it was all about the front-runner. Molinari rarely
strayed off the fairways and let his rivals take the risks involved in
trying to catch and overtake him. They got nowhere near.
For his part, McIlroy was keen to take the positives out of the week.
“It’s close, it’s very close,” he said. “I’ve given myself a great
chance here this week. I didn’t quite pull it off but it’s not far
away. I get a bit down on myself because my expectations are high, and
with a 36-hole lead, I should have closed it out. But that’s not
taking anything away from Francesco. He played a great weekend and
bogey-free around here is some playing.”
The champion dropped only two shots in four rounds, the last of them
at the 10th hole of his second round. In winning, he became
the third Italian to lift the trophy, following Costantino Rocca
(1996) and Matteo Manassero (2013). His victory also kick-started his
summer campaign to qualify for the Europe Ryder Cup team that will
play the United States in Paris this September.
Something of a West Course specialist, Molinari had five top-ten
finishes in his previous six appearances at Wentworth and finished
runner-up to Noren in 2017. Now he has gone one better and will
already be thinking of the defence of his crown in 2019. He will take
some stopping.