Teeing Off | PGA Tour’s Francesco Molinari on Arnold Palmer Invitational success, burger celebrations and lessons in defeat
- Italy’s star golfer celebrated last year’s Arnold Palmer Invitational eating burgers at a roadside diner with his caddie
- Defending champion thinks golf is ‘great school of life’ with lessons in every loss
Almost a year ago, my caddie and I were sitting at the end of the day at a fast-food restaurant on the roadside between Orlando and Jacksonville, engulfing giant burgers among laughter. It was our particular celebration after a difficult week and a constant struggle during the four days of competition.
While I understand that some like to celebrate with big parties and champagne, for me it is important to share those few moments of satisfaction that golf gives you with the people who have contributed to your success.
I arrived last year at the Arnold Palmer Invitational after a solid first start in Mexico. I played well in the previous week and came in with good feelings, even though it was just my second tournament of the year.
And yet, I made a mess of things early. The first day I put the ball in a bush in the fourth hole. I tried to play it out from there and the ball didn’t move and after a double bogey on that par 5, I sank a hole-in-one in a par 3 to start straightening the tournament.
On Saturday, I had trouble controlling my distances and putting. I ended up shooting 73 and I remember a debrief giving us some goals to process for Sunday and we said ‘let’s have a little more positive attitude, talk with each other more on the course and be a little more decisive in our iron selections’. Then Sunday started well and we virtually had perfect round. I entered the day five back but shot a bogey-free 64 to come from behind to win.
As golfers, every time you’re in contention with one round to go, you hope there’s a slight chance on Sunday. You know that if you have the perfect round, a leader can struggle to play well, and you can recover. We somehow managed to put it all together and win Arnie’s tournament. It was my fourth worldwide win in 10 months which was a streak that began with the BMW PGA Championship in London, continued at the Quicken Loans National in Washington City, and had its climax at the Open Championship in Carnoustie where we did open some good bottles of wine to celebrate.
