Francesco Molinari recalls ‘monster’ putt to win Arnold Palmer Invitational in 2019 as he returns to scene of magic

Published 01/03/2023 at 12:59 GMT

PGA Tour star Francesco Molinari will tee it up this week at the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill with the memory of his stunning victory in the event still very much fresh in his mind, writes Graham Jenkins. “Arnold Palmer Invitational has always been one of my favourite stops on tour, to be honest,” the Italian star told Eurosport in an interview.

Francesco Molinari profile - 'A man for magical moments'

From Open Championship glory to Ryder Cup heroics, Francesco Molinari is no stranger to magical moments and he returns to the scene of another one this week.

The Italian is part of a star-studded field that will tee it up at the PGA Tour’s Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill where he won in 2019 to lay claim to the prestigious title and an eye-catching addition to his wardrobe.

To seal what was his third and most recent PGA Tour win, Molinari drained a monster 43ft putt and ahead of his return to the scene of his famous triumph, he has recalled the sparkling round that he punctuated in stunning fashion.

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“Arnold Palmer Invitational has always been one of my favourite stops on tour, to be honest,” he told Eurosport. “I think it's just the charisma of, you know, I was lucky enough to meet him [Palmer] the first few years that I played there and have a chat with him every year. Nice town to be in for the week so it's always been a week that I enjoyed.

“Obviously, winning in 2019 made it even more special. I was in pretty good form, it was obviously early in the season, but I was coming off a great year in 2018 and I think that that sort of kick-started the first part of 2019 where after that I had some really good events.”

After a third-round 73, Molinari was five shots off the pace down in 17th place with England’s Matt Fitzpatrick on top of the leaderboard. But the 2018 Open Championship winner would conjure a brilliant 8-under 64 in the final round to eventually pip his English rival by two shots.

“The game was feeling solid,” he recalled. “I remember the first three days I was playing well but not getting a lot out of it, so I was in a decent position but a few shots back and then Sunday everything seemed to click together.

“I started making putts and hitting the ball closer to the hole, which I wasn't doing the first three days… I started faster and missed the green on No. 8 but I made the chip, which is obviously a great time to do it after a hot start. I was in danger of dropping a shot and instead, I gained another shot.

That moment of brilliance brought him to within one shot of the lead but there was more to come.

“And then I just remember the back nine, just sort of cruising in trying to make a few more birdies but most of all trying not to drop any silly shots.”

He added: “From that moment, I remember thinking, obviously, you know, I was going low enough to give myself a chance. I remember hitting a great shot into No. 17, it was playing really hard and made two putts for a par.

Francesco Molinari of Italy is congratulated by Billy Horschel after making a birdie putt on the 18th hole green during the final round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard at Bay Hill Club and Lodge on March 10, 2019 in Orlando

Image credit: Getty Images

“And then No. 18, a really good tee shot, obviously the second shot there, you normally go for the middle of the green with the flag behind the water. And then just making the monster putt was a great way to cap the week.

“To be honest, I was just trying to lag it as close to the hole as possible to get as close to the hole as possible. It came out on a perfect line so pretty soon I started thinking this had a chance of going in and then you had the last ten feet or so it was tracking to the middle of the hole and you could see it was going in.”

With the victory, Molinari earned $1.6m and the famous red cardigan, similar to that memorably worn by Palmer, but unfortunately, he has not managed to win since.

He has also struggled to find his best form this season but with the chance of another Ryder Cup appearance on home soil looming large later this year, he is relishing a return to Bay Hill.

“Since then, coming back has always been exciting and I'm looking forward to it again this year,” he concluded.

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You can check out the 2023 Arnold Palmer Invitational tee times, TV coverage and viewer's guide via Golf Digest.

Arnold Palmer Invitational