Italian golfer Francesco Molinari did not get to see the Augusta National till 2006 and then, too, as a bagman for his brother, Edoardo Molinari, elder to him by about 20 months.

Exactly a year before that, the 36-year-old younger Molinari — Frankie — was playing the Madeira Island Open while Tiger Woods was being fitted for his fourth Green Jacket in the midst of his second sensational run from 2005 to 2009 when he won 35 titles worldwide. That run compared well with the period between 1999 and 2003, when he won 36 titles.

Neither Molinari nor Woods could have imagined that there could be a time when fans and pundits could even suggest that Molinari had Woods’ number. Times have changed, but their lives and golf continue to be intertwined. Woods is now on a comeback trail. Molinari is in the midst of a Golden Run.

Molinari won the Italian Open on European Tour in 2006, three weeks after his caddying experience at the Augusta National; but his first significant success came at the 2009 at the Mission Hills, Shenzhen, China, where he won the World Cup with Edoardo, who was no slouch.

The big moment

Edoardo’s US Amateur win got him to the Masters, US Open and the 2006 Open at Liverpool – the last Open that Woods won. But for both Edoardo and Francesco, the first big moment of their lives came at the 2009 World Cup in far-off China.

That was a game-changing week for the game itself, for Woods’ life story started unravelling that week on account of personal problems. Four surgeries, other health issues and loss of form, besides rumours of putting ‘yipes’ followed.

Even as the World Cup was being played on the other side of the world, the Friday of that week Woods lost control of his SUV outside his Florida house and hit a fire hydrant. His wife, Ellen, reportedly used a golf club to smash the rear window to get him out of the car. The incident sent Wood’s life into a tailspin. Life and golf were never the same again. Till now. And, now, a resurgent Woods chases an in-form Molinari at the 2019 Masters.

As for Molinaris’ World Cup win in 2009, the focus had been taken away and Woods became the headlines. Woods’ last Major came in 2008 and the younger Molinari’s story began around that time. In 2010, a year after he won the World Cup, he won his first ‘big’ title – the WGC HSBC Champions. That, too, came in China, at the Sheshan Golf Club, Shanghai.

Waiting for a shot

Going back to his looping (caddying) duties at the 2006 Masters, Frankie was not always as hungry as he is these days. After carrying the bag for Edoardo, all that Frankie wanted was a chance to play the Augusta National once.

“It is not easy to be a caddy here (Augusta),” said Molinari, of carrying a heavy pro bag on a hilly course and not flat as it seems on TV, which is where every golf fan sees the Augusta National first.

Frankie is on a different level. He has grown from strength to strength. What he saw at Augusta in 2006 and then at other big events, made him realise how much more he needed to work. He is now helped by the well-known performance coach Dave Alred and swing coach Denis Pugh. The team includes nutritionists and others. The dividends have begun to pay.

Steady success

Molinari’s progress to the upper echelons was slow and steady. Between 2011 and 2017, he won only once each in 2012 (Open de Espana) and in 2016 (a second Italian Open). Yet, he racked up nine runner-up finishes and as many as 42 Top-10s.

Then it all changed in 2018. He won three times and each time was a progression upwards – the European Tour flagship event, BMW PGA, in May; the Quicken Loans Nationals (an event promoted by Woods) on PGA in July and the same month he won his first Major – the 2018 Open at Carnoustie, with a runner-up finish at another PGA event thrown in between. It did not stop there as he won all his five points at the Ryder Cup and finished the year as the European Tour Number one. It is never easy to follow up a year like that. But in March, he added the Palmer Invitational for his third PGA Tour win.

As for him having Woods’ number — he held off a resurgent Woods at Carnoustie; and then he beat Woods three times at the Ryder Cup. With Tommy Fleetwood as his partner, Molinari beat Woods twice when he was paired with Patrick Reed and once with Bryson DeChambeau.

He is dialed in all right and the number belongs to Woods. But Molinari is rock steady and poker-faced as he says, “Sorry, I can be more exciting.” On a Sunday, the Augusta National brought forward Sunday Tee Times and made it three-ball to finish before an oncoming thunderstorm. But, before that Francesco Molinari could provide the thunder and lightning with his golf clubs at the Augusta National.

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