Get to know the 2018 Champion Golfer of the Year a little better.
20 Things You Didn't Know About Francesco Molinari
A player looking to find some form again after a lengthy layoff in 2020, Francesco Molinari will undoubtedly have his eyes set on the Ryder Cup next year.
Get to know the 2018 Open Champion with these 20 facts below...
20 Things You Didn't Know About Francesco Molinari
1. He is a West Ham Fan due to Gianfranco Zola managing the East London side in 2008
2. He lives in London and practises at The Wisley in Surrey
3. He married his now wife Valentina in 2007. The pair have two children - Tomasso and Emma
Find out more about Valentina Molinari
4. He and his brother Edoardo played together at the 2010 Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor, where the song "there's only two Molinaris" became popular
5. The two Molinaris also won the 2009 World Cup together for Italy at Mission Hills GC in China
6. He was born in Turin, Italy
7. As well as being a Hammer, Francesco is a massive Inter Milan fan - arch rivals to his home side Juventus, who his brother supports
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8. He secured the winning half point in the 2012 Ryder Cup, known as the Miracle at Medinah, against Tiger Woods
9. Continuing on from number 8, that was revenge for getting beaten by Tiger 4&3 at Celtic Manor two years prior
10. He caddied for his brother Edoardo in the 2006 Masters
11. He turned pro in 2004 off a handicap of +4
12. He is a keen snowboarder
13. He can be considered as the best Italian golfer of all time. He has passed Constantino Rocca's total of five European Tour wins - Molinari reached six after the Open
14. He is the only European in history to win all five matches in a single Ryder Cup
15. He won the WGC-HSBC Champions in 2011, beating Lee Westwood by a stroke
16. He is coached by Denis Pugh and has last year teamed up with Dave Alred and Phil Kenyon - more on his coaching team here
17. He played in his first major championship at Carnoustie in 2007 - it didn't go well for him, shooting rounds of 76 and 74 to miss the cut at +8
18. He is the first Italian man or woman to win a golf Major
19. His career-high world ranking is 5
20. He won the 2018 BBC World Sports Star award
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A golfer for most of his life, Sam started playing the game to prove he was the best player out of his father and two brothers.
He quickly became a golf equipment expert and has always been the one family and friends come to for buying advice, and spends a lot of his time putting golf gear, apparel and shoes to the test.
He is a graduate of Swansea University where he studied History and American Studies, and he has been a part of the Golf Monthly team since February 2018. He also previously worked for World Soccer and Rugby World magazines.
A jack of all trades across print and digital formats, Sam now spends most of his time testing and looking after golf gear content for the website. He also oversees all Tour player content as well.
Unfortunately, Sam is not a member of any club at the moment but regularly gets out on the golf course to keep up the facade of having a handicap of five.
Sam is currently playing:
Driver: Titleist TS3
Fairway Wood: TaylorMade M5 (15 degrees), Nike Covert Tour 2.0 (19 degrees)
Irons (4-PW): Titleist AP2
Wedges: Titleist Vokey SM7 54˚, 58˚
Putter: Scotty Cameron Circa 62 #6
