Edoardo and Francesco Molinari were brothers in arms on the opening day of The 143rd Open Championship, carding rounds of 68 to lie in a share of third place in the early stages at Royal Liverpool Golf Club.
The siblings’ efforts were soon surpassed by their ‘amico’ Matteo Manassero, who went one better with a 67 which moved the Italian into second place behind clubhouse leader Rory McIlroy in the early stages.
The day was especially gratifying for Edoardo, who only booked his berth in Hoylake four weeks ago with a superb display at the Irish Open.
That runner-up finish at Fota Island Resort signalled a welcome return to form for Molinari, whose career since the heady heights of 2010 has been dogged by persistent injury.
Surgery to his wrist and thumb in swift succession checked the momentum of a career which had appeared destined for glorious things after his ‘annus mirabilis’, culminating in a debut Ryder Cup appearance alongside his brother in Wales.
But having returned to full fitness and rediscovered his form, Molinari is clearly keen to make up for lost time – and five birdies in a round of 68, which represents his joint lowest effort at The Open, was certainly a good place to start.
He said: “Since the end of 2011, it hasn’t been a lot of fun. It’s very frustrating when you have an injury, and you can’t really do anything about it. The toughest time was when I had to have the second surgery. When you undergo surgery, then you hope it’s the last time. So to do it again less than a year later wasn’t fun at all. But hopefully, touch wood, everything is fine now and I can keep playing good golf.
“Just to get in a Major is the first step. I was very happy a few weeks ago in Ireland when I got my spot here, because it’s been less than a year since the last surgery. So that’s quite a quick recovery. And then to shoot a good number today and be in good position for the last three rounds, it’s obviously another step in the right direction.”
Manassero is looking to improve on a moderate record in golf’s oldest competition, with a tied 13th finish as an amateur at Turnberry in 2009 the only time he has seen the weekend.
That performance, which came shortly after his triumph at the Amateur Championship, earned Manassero the Silver Medal, but in subsequent seasons the youngster from Verona has either missed the cut or, as in 2010 and 2012, missed out on qualification altogether.
Manassero puts that down to a mid-season dip in form but, having arrived in Hoylake buoyed by a top five finish in last week’s Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open at Royal Aberdeen, where he become acclimatised to the unique demands of a links layout, the 21 year old felt ready to right the anomaly of his wretched recent run in the tournament.
Manassero, who had his coach and former European Tour player Alberto Binaghi on his bag, said: “The Scottish Open was the best preparation I could have had. We had strong winds one day, we had calm on the last day, and we had different directions of wind. And the course was firm. It was really linksy, so I just put myself in a very linksy frame of mind. So I felt good when I got here, which was so important for me.
“I knew how a putt would roll from the slope, I knew how fast the ball would release, all those things that you just don’t know when you haven’t played links in a while. I hadn’t been playing that well this season, so I needed something to happen for me before The Open to cheer me up a little bit. So last week was really nice for me in many ways.”
Manassero was also heartened by the performances of his compatriots, with whom he played a practice round.
He said: “It’s great. I knew they were playing solid golf. I saw in the practice round Edoardo was playing really, really solid. And Francesco, I’m always sure that he is going to do well on this kind of golf course. So it’s very good for Italian golf that all of us have got off to a fast start.
“And when there are three of you instead of only one, there is more chance that one of you is going to stay up there. It would be wonderful to have a few Italians up there on Sunday afternoon. It’s going to be a lot of fun if there is.”
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