Molinari fires 61 by keeping things simple at Shriners Open

Bravissimo, Francesco!

Francesco Molinari had a long way to go Sunday, but he made the most of his final round of the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open. He had the best day of anyone at TPC Summerlin, a 10-under-par 61, and finished in a tie for fourth place.

Molinari, 33, who has played professionally since 2004 and joined the PGA Tour in 2014, didn’t win. But he felt like a winner after his final round, which helped him earn $272,800. At one point, he was tied for second before falling back to third and eventually finishing fourth, four shots behind winner Rod Pampling.

“It was a great day,” Molinari said. “It was the last round of the year for me and it was my best round ever. So I am very happy.

“I didn’t try to be so precise. I just went out and kept things simple. One thing led to another and one birdie led to another.”

Molinari began the day tied for 46th place and teed off from the 10th tee. But he quickly ascended into contention after making an eagle at the par-11th, holing out from 124 yards. He added birdies at Nos. 13, 15 and 16 and made the turn at 5-under.

He stayed hot, coming away with birdie at four of his first six holes on his back nine to get to 9-under and was tied for third. And while he wasn’t able to overtake Pampling, to end up from where he began the day was quite an accomplishment.

“It’s been a great week here,” Molinari said. “I’d been playing well all week and to finish up the way I did, getting my personal record for best round, it’s something I’ll always remember.’

LOCAL LEADERBOARD

Of the local players still competing, former UNLV star Ryan Moore had the best finish, carding a final-round score of 2-under 69 and ended tied for 15th place.

Scott Piercy, who turned 38 Sunday, was 2-under early in his final round but the Las Vegan was unable to sustain his early success and he finished the week with an even par 71 and a tie for 24th place.

Former Rebel Chad Campbell had a final-round 2-over 73 and tied for 61st place.

TWO-TIME WINNER

Brendon Woolley, who caddied for Pampling, has won before in Las Vegas. In 2002, he was on the bag for Phil Tataurangi when Tataurangi won at TPC Summerlin.

HOLE STATS

The par-4 No. 3 at TPC Summerlin proved to be the toughest hole this week for the field. It yielded an average of 4.274 strokes and had just 41 birdies.

By contrast, the easiest hole this week was the par-5 16th. It had an average of 4.414 strokes, had 32 eagles and 231 birdies.

Contact Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913. Follow @stevecarprj on Twitter.