RORY MCILROY had no answer to the golfing “robot” as Francesco Molinari’s laser-like hitting brought him a two stroke victory at the BMW PGA Championship.
The two men started the final round locked together on 13 under par, but Molinari’s ruthless efficiency proved too much for his playing partner.
The Italian ace did closed with a four under par 68, and he did not make a single bogey in the final 44 holes.
In fact, he dropped just two shots all week – and one of those came on his very first hole!
McIlroy was far more erratic, especially over the weekend, and it was obvious 2017 runner-up Molinari had got under his skin as they played the final hole.
The former world No 1 explained: “I turned to Harry, my caddie, and said Francesco was just like a robot – he never seemed to miss a shot, ever!
“I had a chance to put the pressure on him if I could have holed my eagle putt on the last when Francesco left his birdie putt six feet short. If I make and he misses, we’re into a play-off.
“It was agonising to see mine stop just short. It was straight downhill and I couldn’t see any way it was going to pull up before it reached the hole.
IN THE RORS Rory McIlroy blasted for not shouting ‘fore’ after hitting three fans in a round
“It would have been nice to have put some extra pressure on him.
“But I was glad Frankie made his par putt after that. It would have felt worse if I’d lost by one, and my putt had proved the difference between defeat and having another shot at it.”
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McIlroy could only manage a two under par 70, and was left to curse a ragged start.
That allowed Molinari to build a three shot lead by the end of the front nine.
After a third round in which McIlroy was hammered for not shouting fore when he hit wild shots, there were a few too many of those calls for comfort, including one on the opening hole.
He blasted that one to the right, did the same thing on the third, and it was a case of ‘fore left’ on the must birdie fourth. Having to settle for par on that hole felt like giving a shot away.
McIlroy added: “It is tough when you’ve got a two-way miss going, and I’ve obviously still got a lot of work to do before the changes I made after missing the cut at the Players’ Championship really bed in.
“I’m disappointed I didn’t play better over the weekend. But my golf was a lot better than it was at Sawgrass. I needed a good start today to match Francesco, but it didn’t happen, and I couldn’t claw it back.
“It’s frustrating not to finish it off after taking a three shot lead after the first two rounds, but Frankie played great. Covering the final 36 holes, and more, bogey-free takes some doing around here.”
Molinari’s fifth European Tour victory was worth just over £870,000 and sent him rocketing up the Ryder Cup qualifying list from 27th to fourth.
Molinari said: “It feels great to get over the line – I have had six top tens here in the past, and I must admit I thought it would be difficult when I was five behind Rory at halfway.
“But I played very solid. I don’t want to sound arrogant, but no bogeys in 44 holes in impressive, even by the high standards I set for myself.”
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