It’s Canada Day, but at TPC Potomac it was all Italy, as Francesco Molinari fired a sizzling bogey-free round of 62 and lapped the field in D.C. to win the Quicken Loans National by eight shots.
Molinari, quietly ranked No. 17 in the world, finished his final round with an eagle and six birdies en route to a 62 and a four-day total of 21-under par.
Like Alex Noren did in France, Molinari essentially locked up a spot on the 2018 European Ryder Cup team.
With his maiden PGA Tour title, Molinari becomes the first Italian to win on the American Tour since Toney Penna won the Atlanta Open in 1947.
PRO-FILE
Nationality: Italy
Height: 5′ 8″
Weight: 160 lb
Birthdate: November 8, 1982 (age 35)
Native: Turin, Italy
Resides: London, England
College: University of Turin (Italy)
Primary Sponsor: Nike
Equipment: Taylormade
FINAL SCORES
1. Francesco Molinari -21 (67-65-65-62)
2. Ryan Armour -13 (66-65-69-68)
2. Sung-hoon Kang -12 (72-64-68-64)
4. Tiger Woods -11 (70-65-68-66)
4. Abraham Ancer -11 (65-70-62-72)
EARLY-ROUND JOCKEYING
ROUND ONE
1. Andrew Landry -7
1. J.J. Spaun -7
3. Billy Horschel -6
3. Andrew Putnam -6
10. Francesco Molinari -3
ROUND TWO
1. Beau Hossler -9 (65-66)
1. Brian Gay -9 (67-64)
1. Ryan Armour -9 (66-65)
4. Francesco Molinari -8 (67-65)
ROUND THREE
1. Francesco Molinari -13 (67-65-65)
1. Abraham Ancer -13 (65-70-62)
3. Zac Blair -11 (67-66-66)
3. Ryan Armour -11 (66-65-68)
WINNER’S STATS
Driving: 300.9 yards (35th)
Fairways: 42/56, 74.6% (4th)
Greens: 62/72, 86.1% (1st)
Putts Per GIR: 1.66 (17th)
Par-3 Scoring: -4 (4 Birdies, 12 Pars)
Par-4 Scoring: -11 (13 Birdies, 33 Pars, 2 Bogeys)
Par-5 Scoring: -6 (1 Eagle, 4 Birdies, 3 Pars)
Aggregate Scoring: -21 (1 Eagle, 21 Birdies, 48 Pars, 2 Bogeys)
VICTORIES
PGA Tour: 1
2018 Quicken Loans National
European Tour: 5
2018 BMW PGA Championship
2016 Italian Open
2012 Open de Espana
2010 WGC-HSBC Champions
2006 Telecom Italia Open
MONEY
The victory earned Molinari $1,278,000 and 500 FedExCup points to move from 143rd to 41st on the PGA Tour’s points standings.
WORLD RANKING
Molinari received 34 OWGR points for the win, and will move from 17th to No. 15 in the Official World Golf Rankings.
VIDEO: MOLINARI’S HIGHLIGHTS
QUOTABLE
“Amazing. You still have to sink in. I’ve always said that the next stage of my career would have been to win over here, and to do it in this fashion, it’s even better. I’m very proud the way I played today, probably some of the best golf I’ve ever played and I’ll ever play in the future. I think it’s hard to play better than this. Yeah, very proud.”
– Francesco Molinari
