In 48 previous appearances in golf's World Cup team event, Italy had never hoisted the trophy.  Unlike its fantastic success in soccer's global tournament, Italy had lacked the manpower to win on the links.  This morning in China, though, that changed.  Brothers Edoardo and Francesco Molinari won the Mission Hills World Cup by a shot over Ireland and Sweden.

The Molinari brothers were able to get up and down from a greenside bunker at the final hole to take the title.  The Molinaris were playing the final hole behind Sweden and Ireland, who both had putts to tie the Italians.  Henrik Stenson was unable to make his 45 foot attempt for the Swedes.  Then 20 year old phenom Rory McIlroy could not make his birdie putt either for the Irish.

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"It’s really great for Italy. I think we deserved it as we attacked from the first day with every putt and every shot and we tried to make as many birdies as possible," said Francesco Molinari.

Interestingly enough, Edoardo Molinari won last weekend at the high-profile Dunlop Phoenix event in Japan via a playoff against Swedish team member Robert Karlsson.

Francesco has had a terrific season on the European Tour, including seven top ten finishes.  He also finished 10th at the PGA Championship at Hazeltine.

As a team, the Molinaris also become the first pair of brothers to win the World Cup.

The US team of Nick Watney and John Merrick salvaged the tournament on Sunday as they fired a bogey-free final round of 62 to finish in the top ten - tied for seventh at -20.