Francesco Molinari Holds Off Westwood for HSBC Win
by Charles Boyer on Nov 7, 2010 9:57 AM EST
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It came down to the final hole near Shanghai this weekend, and Francesco Molinari continued his personal and his home country of Italy's remarkable run in golf this season. His win came down to Lee Westwood missing an eagle putt, but it was a stirring victory for the man who led each round of the event. He closed his final round with a bogey-free 67 to finish at 19-under 269, one stroke ahead of Englishman Westwood (67). Westwood played well in the event, but couldn't catch Molinari when it mattered most.
PGA Tour: HSBC Championship Final Standings
Total is the only word to describe the final duo's domination - they finished 10 strokes clear of third place.
Molinari. coming off Ryder Cup success, earned his second win, and accolades from the audience as he hung in and played his best when he needed to. "It wasn't easy. I'm just really proud of the way I played, he said.
Now, Molinari is hoping that his, his brother Eduoardo's and 17-year old Italian Matteo Manassero's - who became the youngest winner on the European Tour at the Castello Masters last month, will stir interest in golf back home -- a country that's dominated by a burning passion for football (soccer.) "You know, me and Edoardo and Matteo, we are doing our best to have news in the newspaper about golf, and I think we are doing quite well. So hopefully they will start talking a bit more about golf, as well," Molinari quipped.
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I have to give KUDO's for the win...well done
However, when he says their trying to get more press space in the papers, etc, I think he really has an uphill battle on his hands….In a nation as crazy over soccer as Italy, and the money the heros get for kicking that ball around….well, what direction would you push your kid/s? Make a hell of a lot more, and don’t have to travel all over the world to make a living….STUB
At 30
professional footballers are pretty much done and dusted. At 30, pro golfers still have 20 or more productive years in front of them. I know where I would be pointing my kids.
Ok, I will do the soccer bit, and make more
money in one year, than the golfer will in probably 5-6, so that by age 30, I have all the loot I’ll need the rest of my life…and probably a lot left over….now, your kids at age 50 are still havin to go out there, travel over to hell and back, with deminished income the last 5 years of the 50….As ya said Woof…" I know where I’d be pointing my kids"….jis syin mind ya….STUB
how many futbol’ers can actually make that claim ? do they make millions top to bottom in the league ?
"Fathom the odd hypocrisy that Obama wants every citizen to prove they are insured, but people don't have to prove they are citizens." - Ben Stein
Court, due to more numbers (players) in the sport,
actually more than golfers….I know there has been more parity in the world lately, but, at least I was, speaking of the general state….Go to the number of golfers vs soccer players…..That’s why the sport has taken off here in US,,,,Also, very interesting to see how many colleges have scholorships for soccer….men and women….some of the highschool kids get more recruiting pressure than the football players….STUB
I keep hearing that soccer has “taken off” in the US – but our brand of soccer is a joke to most of the rest of the world – and the professional leagues get almost no attention, even compared to the NHL. More colleges have women’s soccer than men’s…because of Title IX and the federal mandate to give out an equal number of scholarships to men and women – ignoring the fact that football pays the bills for the rest of the athletic department and should be separated from the other sports. (oh well – who expects the gubmint to do anything that makes sense ?)
"Fathom the odd hypocrisy that Obama wants every citizen to prove they are insured, but people don't have to prove they are citizens." - Ben Stein
Court, there ya go again, making those generalities that
don’t hold water…that part about professional soccer not getting attention compared to the NHL…That’s plain rubbish….I agree, our soccer is not up to the same standards of say Europe, but remember, they have been playing it a lot longer than we have, and it is considered their National sport…Those clubs are now begining to recruit from our colleges The influx of South Americans has greatly improved our soccer…And Where, did the World Cup show who was better? Also not true that there are more colleges with womens soccer compared to mens…I think you need to do more digging into Title 1X….no argument about Football paying the freight at the colleges…My point was, that more and more OTHER SPORTS are creeping in….STUB
Gonna have Court audited as well?
Dang court “Y’all” need to read hat you rite before you go posting it, ya hear?
"If it doesn't work, you are trying to hard."
http://twitter.com/Roy_Ko
Dang nab it Royko...say it right...only those with
a mouth full of mush say "Y"ALL"….CIVILIZED southerners say YOU ALL…No audit…Court is jist worried about his Hairy Dawgs that"s all…He’ll be alright after football season whenhe can go back to berating the Golf Channel…..lol lol …STUB
Europe..South America…Asia…I think we can still beat most of Africa.
Umm – NHL has a TV contract – soccer ? Not so much.
We went through this stuff in the 70’s during the Pele years – then we went through it in 1994 following a pretty good run in the world cup here in the US.
The influx of South Americans ?? You mean Central America…aka illegals from Mexico ?
Sorry – but a country the size of the US over a span of almost 40 years with the numbers of world class athletes we have – and we can’t field a team that can compete with traditional powers because we can’t get the fundamentals down instead of raising a handful of hot dogging prima donas ? We can’t even get the Premier League interested in more than one of our national team at a time.
"Fathom the odd hypocrisy that Obama wants every citizen to prove they are insured, but people don't have to prove they are citizens." - Ben Stein
Umm – NHL has a TV contract – soccer ? Not so much.
MLS is on ESPN all summer, and if you are watching carefully, you will also notice that the Barclay’s Premiereship has a match on every Saturday morning on ESPN.
Not only that, all of the MLS teams have their own deals with the regional Fox sports channel…just like the local NHL teams do.
Moreover, there is Fox Soccer Channel, Fox Soccer Plus and GOL TV available for viewers to watch.
by Charles Boyer on Nov 9, 2010 10:55 AM EST up reply actions
Really ? During daylight hours and not as an alternative to HSN and juicer infomercials at 3 in the morning ? (ducking) :-D
I’ve seen bits and pieces of Premiere league games now and then – and seen mentions of MLS games – but not on a regular basis and almost never in prime time except for the World Cup month.
"Fathom the odd hypocrisy that Obama wants every citizen to prove they are insured, but people don't have to prove they are citizens." - Ben Stein
common Court...capitulate..
no firing squad…when OMP says it, ur engines stop and ur dead in the water….We still love ya man….lol….live to fight another day and all that…..lol lol …STUB
Oddly, MLS games were on ESPN every Wednesday night all summer, Court.
by Charles Boyer on Nov 9, 2010 9:23 PM EST up reply actions
???
Take a quick look at TW’s results this year. Not a great year by his or any standard – but Duval-esque ?
"Fathom the odd hypocrisy that Obama wants every citizen to prove they are insured, but people don't have to prove they are citizens." - Ben Stein
Yup Court
It’s starting to look that way, “In My Opinion”
Tiger isn even looking Tiger-esque lately.
BTW, Internet service in France SUCKS.
"pain is only weakness leaving the body"
Tiger Duval-esque???
Lol…off number one for just a week, still number 2 regardless of Kaymer and Lefty, A top ten finish in China, blew half the season and still managed to make some good money (sure not in Tiger’s Standard) Hey Tiger has been on and off number 1 in 13 years, who says his career has crashed?? Y’all need to get out the box and look at the big picture, progolf, …TW’s game is far from over and number one is far from taken away frorm him….IMO…(Did yah read that abbreviation Court?…IMO…)
"If it doesn't work, you are trying to hard."
http://twitter.com/Roy_Ko
Duval-Esque
What I mean by that is for the last 6 months TW has been showing signs of playing like Duval during his downturn. Spraying the ball left and right, hooking and slicing, missing putts from inside of 6ft often, duffing shots etc etc. Inconsistant with all aspects of the game overall. JMHO
"pain is only weakness leaving the body"
lol – can you point to any long strings of TW’s career where he DIDN’T spray tee shots into other counties ? :-)
Duval’s game just disappeared. When he stopped winning, it wasn’t a slow slide down the ranks with medicre play (a handful of top 10’s is not mediocre unless you’re talking about Tiger, by the way). Duval turned into a cliff diver with his performance.
"Fathom the odd hypocrisy that Obama wants every citizen to prove they are insured, but people don't have to prove they are citizens." - Ben Stein
Jump, Court....didn't
Duval’s bad play start with the down turn in his wifes health? Isn’t that the reason he stayed off the tour when he did? She must have improved, otherwise he would still not be playing….STUB
His 2nd round of downward spiral
may have been due to his wife’s bad health, but the first time round, it was total mental meltdown when the taste in his mouth after winning The Open was ……sawdust.
Wendy, explain Pls...
I always thought it was the health reason for leaving the tour….STUB
I thought
his slide started when he tried to return from that wrist(??) injury too soon. It required some modification in his swing that he never recovered from. I could be wrong. I was wrong once before, back in 1983, but I don’t remember what I was wrong about. Go Figure……
The Saints ARE the SUPER BOWL CHAMPS....WHO DAT!
He had a lot of back problems too, but the one thing that’s haunted David Duval forever was his depression, which he has talked about in the past.
by Charles Boyer on Nov 9, 2010 11:49 AM EST up reply actions
Being a great fan of David Duval since his Open win
in 2001 and his most gracious speech, I have followed his trials and tribulations with interest & sympathy. Although his decline was variously attributed to back, wrist, shoulder problems & even vertigo, he admitted some time ago that he suffered depression after the biggest win of his career (a sort of “Is that all there is?”), split with his girlfriend of some years, went into a downward spiral and left the game for 2/3 years. He returned in 2004, married, etc, and was doing OK, then his mother died in 2007 and his wife suffered a very difficult pregnancy which necessitated him staying at home to look after her & the 3 young children from her previous marriage. He got a medical exemption for that and although mixed results since he does have his card for 2011. I know he hasn’t always been a firm favourite with US fans as he has appeared aloof (those shades didn’t help and he doesn’t exactly emote in i/vs) but I think that has changed somewhat. I always keep a look out for him on the scoreboard & wish him all the best. .
Wendy......great info.....
You are a fountain of knowledge. I don’t suppose you know the lottery numbers for this week?…..:)
The Saints ARE the SUPER BOWL CHAMPS....WHO DAT!
Don’t forget the mental aspect. Duval got dumped by a woman he thought he was going to marry – it really threw him for a loop along with the chronic back problems and the wrist injury.
"Fathom the odd hypocrisy that Obama wants every citizen to prove they are insured, but people don't have to prove they are citizens." - Ben Stein
?????
What have you been drinking over there Jumpn..lol? Duval didn’t make a cut for like 2 years much less have a top ten. How does a top 6 finish against a pretty good field lead you to that conclusion? His downturn is over and I’d say we saw him hit the bottom at Firestone; what we’re seeing now to my eye is a positive trajectory. Actually that’s not just to my eye, if you charted his year on a spreadsheet you would see exactly this, a downward spiral until Firestone, but a positive trajectory since. Inconsistent yes, but evidence of improvement is everywhere.
Fight for your opinions, but do not believe that they contain the whole truth, or the only truth.
Charles A. Dana
Another 3 hrs with no Internet in France
Another reason not to open an office here. LOL
TH, Duval-Esque as comparing Tiger to Tiger 2009 vs 2010. Quite a downward spiral if you ask me. Missing from inside of 6 ft last year, not hardly. This year on the other hand, More often than not. He finished T-6th this week with 6 other players and 12 shots of the lead,, that was mostly due to him having somewhat of a rally on day 4 and others moving backwards. Comparing Tiger stats to Tiger stats, I’d say it has shades of Duval in it’s early stages. again JMHO
"pain is only weakness leaving the body"
Maybe it's your provider?
Cousins in Paris/Brittany who are architects & rely upon internet say no interruption for them.
jumpn
The fact he played well on Sunday, (which I think you would agree is money day) is nothing but a good sign. Players fall back every week, and other players move up with good play, so what’s your point? It’s the score you shoot over 72 holes that matters; add them up in the end and this time it was T6. Compared to earlier in the year, I’d call that a step in the right direction, while you’re implying it equates to a complete disaster. I kind of get what you’re trying to say comparing Tiger stats to Tiger stats, but completely disagree with the Duval reference.
Fight for your opinions, but do not believe that they contain the whole truth, or the only truth.
Charles A. Dana
Internet service was pretty similar last time I was there ...
… and cell phone service is much better in France than it is in the US. No contest.
Duval fell out of love with the game, though
TW hasn’t – not whilst he is still chasing JN’s record.
fruits of success
maybe he is not eating enough fruit with all the anti fruit publicity….Tiger..that is
"If it doesn't work, you are trying to hard."
http://twitter.com/Roy_Ko
Wendy...I remember an
interview that Duval gave some time back, and the jist was that he still loved the game and missed it, but his family came first….He has an uncle on the Champions tour, and he said basically the same thing…So, I don’t think that’s falling out of love with the game, I think it shows great resolve and strength of character to put his priorities in proper order….By the by….got the garden cleaned out yet ? Went to the farmers market Sunday, and got the last of the Tomatoes for the year…They close their stand on the 14th of Nov….STUB
True, STUB
but the first time round (2002) he did fall out of love with the game. The 2nd “decline” in results was to look after his family. Good man.
I also remember when he went super fit/super thin – which wasn’t a good thing. Now I look at him and say (maternally) "Oh for heaven’s sake, David, pull up your pants and pull in your belly!
I hope he and his family have a happy & healthy ( & successful) 2011.
Got a ton of leaves to rake up and put on the compost heap and a bit of pruning to do/hedges to trim. Fetched the last of the unripened tomatoes in a couple of weeks ago, where they have been ripening nicely on a sunny windowsill. Grass still growing madly dammit!
gotta be careful with that one in some rural areas in the southeast. “IMO” can mean “I’m going to” – as in “IMO down to the sto and git sum beers and bait.” :-D
and Y’all isn’t singular – except when Hollywood tries to use it. You never say “y’all” to one person – in this case – pro. I’m not in the “Woods is Duval-esque” camp. :-)
"Fathom the odd hypocrisy that Obama wants every citizen to prove they are insured, but people don't have to prove they are citizens." - Ben Stein
thanks Court
For the lessin on Souther English and the do’s and don’ts of Y’all, however when I orked in Atlanta int he 90’s, Y’all was refered to me as the singular, unless those using it could be double visioned at the time, and that is quite possible…so I apologise fo rmy missuse of an ancient and respected language///
"If it doesn't work, you are trying to hard."
http://twitter.com/Roy_Ko
sorry – but you were mislead – very possibly by a carpet baggin’ yankee who didn’t know how to use the word correctly. (lol)
what kind of work were you doing in Atlanta ?
"Fathom the odd hypocrisy that Obama wants every citizen to prove they are insured, but people don't have to prove they are citizens." - Ben Stein
Reasearching..
The true meaning and origion of the word “Y’all” for the Oxford English Dictionary…joke…:)
Analysing corporate migration from the west to the east coast in the 90’s
"If it doesn't work, you are trying to hard."
http://twitter.com/Roy_Ko
And...
i was there when Ernie was the wonder kid and Tw just turned Pro killing every pro players dreams
"If it doesn't work, you are trying to hard."
http://twitter.com/Roy_Ko
ah – did you get to go to the PGA at Atlanta Athletic Club ?
it’s amazing that people (even in the south) try to use a word that is a contraction of “You All” as a singular.
"Fathom the odd hypocrisy that Obama wants every citizen to prove they are insured, but people don't have to prove they are citizens." - Ben Stein
OK you two...If it's said correctly like
we’uns does here in the Gud Ol USA a Texas, it is said as YOU ALL, no slurring the two together….such as “you all” come back now, hear…..damm you guys, I guy ya books and buy ya books and all ya do is chew the covers off :) lol….STUB
You all have a good day STub..
"If it doesn't work, you are trying to hard."
http://twitter.com/Roy_Ko
Thankee kindly Royko
and same to you all….STUB
Unfortunately...
Between 1990 and end of 2008 the only golf I got as on T.V. Since Jan 2009, when I hung up my hat, I became an addict again…
"If it doesn't work, you are trying to hard."
http://twitter.com/Roy_Ko
well congratulations on renewing your addict card. :-)
"Fathom the odd hypocrisy that Obama wants every citizen to prove they are insured, but people don't have to prove they are citizens." - Ben Stein
yeah...
I sued to collect air miles now I just collect triple bogies and Drivers that I believe will make me hit 300 yards…sigh the missus said if I buy one more driver she is canceling our membership at the club.
"If it doesn't work, you are trying to hard."
http://twitter.com/Roy_Ko
Jump... if you'd have asked, I would have
been glad to share that information with you….My son had been in Paris, and said the same thing…Of course, we are a tad bit spoiled here in the gud Ol US of A…Tech and sholders above other parts of the world….However, I do hope ya had a good time anyway….STUB
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