Francesco Molinari, going for
his third Italian Open win, shared a seven-way tie for the lead
at seven under after day one of this year's event at Monza.
"It was great to get off to a good start, but there's still a
lot of hard work to be done," said Molinari, who added: it was
great to see so many people out on the course getting behind
me".
Others on seven under included Thailand's Kiradech
Aphbarnrat, Sweden's Alexander Bjork, Jamie Donaldson of Wales
and England's Eddie Pepperell and Matt Wallace.
The best placed of the big stars was Spain's Sergio Garcia,
ninth on -5.
In August Molinari came joint second in the US PGA
championship, two strokes behind winner Justin Thomas, equalling
the best finish by an Italian in a major.
At six under, the Turin-born golfer finished level with USA's
Patrick Reed and South Africa's Louis Oosthuizen, equalling
Costantino Rocca's second place behind John Daly after a
play-off in the 1995 Open Championship.
Molinari, who won last year's Italian Open as well as in 2006
and is aiming for his third win this year, told ANSA ahead of
the tournament that many championship golfers "now look at Italy
as a golfing destination for their trips".
Molinari said this year's Italian Open, which will take place
at the Golf Club Milano on October 12-15, has a "fantastic
field" of professionals who will compete for the title.
"There's great satisfaction and excitement in being able to
defend the title in Italy, in front of our fans," Molinari said.
"There will be many champions and it will be truly
stimulating to compete with them," he said.
"Thanks to the awarding of the Ryder Cup, the Italian Open
has made an incredible leap in terms of international prestige,"
said the 35-year-old from Piedmont.
"The increase in prize money is the most obvious proof. I
live in London and I play mostly in the United States on the PGA
Tour. I can assure you that the prospect of the Ryder Cup 2022
has contributed to changing the image of Italian golf in the
eyes of foreigners," said Molinari, the younger of the two
Molinari brothers, both of whom are professional golfers.
He said last year's win was "a really great joy".
"Winning at home is always special. I was coming from a
season with good results, but winning in Monza gave my year
another dimension," he said.
Still young, Molinari already has a first-rate list of
victories and said that although all wins are special, perhaps
his win in Spain is the one he remembers with the most joy
because it took place as part of a comeback, so it had a
"special flavour".
"I remember it with particular joy, together with the World
Cup with my brother Edoardo," he said.
Golf in Italy is slowing changing from a niche, elitist sport
to one that's becoming more popular, as shown by the prestigious
recognition of hosting the Ryder Cup in 2022.
"It's true, golf is changing a lot, it's becoming more
global, both from a tournament point of view as well as the
point of view of high-level players, who are continually coming
from more countries," Molinari said.
"Living outside of Italy, it isn't easy to judge, but what I
can say is that unfortunately golf isn't part of Italian sport
culture, which is why the promotion work of the Federation isn't
easy.
"I think they're doing what's possible, and professionals
such as Montali can only help this sport. As far as I'm
concerned, the main objective for 2018 is always that of
improving and reaching ambitious goals. I'll concentrate, as I
have in recent years, above all on the PGA Tour in America,
trying to improve the results obtained this season".
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