Champion Golfer of the Year...

The 147th Open Championship culminated on Sunday afternoon with a star-studded leaderboard including Jordan Spieth, Rory McIlroy and the return of Tiger Woods.  The leaderboard has more movement than a Charles Barkley golf swing.  And Carnoustie once again became CarNASTY.  


 And the Champion Golfer of the Year was an unassuming figure in the game of game whose steady play has been on display all year:  Francesco Molinari.  Molinari was out in the sometimes unenviable position of having to play on the same group as Tiger Woods which brings with it many unique distractions and super sized galleries.  But Molinari played steady and consistent golf the entire way through.  He parred the first 13 holes and birdied No. 14 and No. 18 for a final round 69 and a 2 shot victory.  

On a day when many of the world’s best players were prone to mistakes, bad breaks, and difficult lies, Molinari played a near surgical round of golf.  As his playing partner Tiger Woods alluded to during his post-round press conference, Molinari’s short game was spectacular.  He was able to get up-and-down with apparent ease.  

Molinari has been trending upward all-year and his win should not have come to a surprise to anyone who watches golf.  But with a leaderboard full of big name players including the bigggest of them all, it’s easy for a player like Molinari to get lost in the shuffle.  Perhaps that played to his advantage as he was able to dodge the questions and expectations that players like Woods, Spieth, and Rory had thrown upon them.  

Speaking of Tiger Woods, for the first time in nearly 10 years, golf fans saw the 14-time major champion in the hunt late on a Sunday afternoon.  Woods briefly held the solo lead of the Open Championship until a double-bogey on the 11th hole and a bogey on No. 12.  Those were the only 2 holes that Woods struggled with on Sunday but it would be enough to finish 3-shots behind Molinari.  

There is an entire generation of new golf fans who have never seen Woods win a major championship, let alone be a threat to the title in the final round.  Sunday proved that Woods still has the game not only to compete for a major golf title but to eventually win No. 15.  It seems like eons have passed since Wood was winning multiple major golf championships a year.  We took for granted the greatness that we were witnessing.  On Sunday, you could feel a collective effort from golf fans everywhere to will Tiger to yet another title.  And while Woods came up just short, the thrill of watching that “Sunday Red” at or near the top of the leaderboard was a lot of fun.  

Woods finish has also put him into the Top-50 of the OWGR. And while this may seem incouous, it means that Woods will be able to compete in the final WGC-Bridgestone Invitational at Firestone Country Club in Akron, Ohio. 

Justin Rose and Rory McIlroy also gave a Sunday charge. Rose made the cut on Friday with a crucial 12-foot putt and only finished 2 back of Molinari for his 2nd major golf championship.  McIlroy, who had come into the week with mixed results this year, put together a nice Sunday run.  Perhaps the most disappointed player this morning is Jordan Spieth who would have won his second consecutive Open with an even par round on Sunday.  Spieth struggled off the tee and was unable to convert critical putts.

The final major is only a few weeks away in St. Louis, Missouri.  B&B is already working on the PGAChampionship preview post which will be out soon.

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