Market-mover Molinari causing headache for bookmakers

Casual and patriotic UK and Ireland punters have latched on to the likes of Justin Rose, Rory McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood for the Open Championship this week, but another European who has steamed up the outright betting over the last few months has got the layers twitching.

Francesco Molinari, who won the BMW PGA Championship in May, then finished second in the Italian Open, was victorious again with an eight-shot romp in the Quicken Loans National, then runner-up in the John Deere Classic on Sunday. There have been a flurry of Open wagers on the little Turin man throughout this awesome run of form.

Bet365 spokesman Steve Freeth said: “Molinari has been a significant mover on the ante-post market – he was 100-1 when we opened the book last year and a 50-1 poke at the start of this month. We've cut him to 30-1 and he's a serious concern on the liability front.”

Coral's John Hill is fearing an English Open victor and said: “Football is not coming home, but patriotic golf punters certainly believe the Open will be won by an Englishman this year as Rose, Fleetwood and Lee Westwood have been extremely popular. They are the three players who will produce a nightmare outcome for us if they lift the Claret Jug.”

Fleetwood has also been popular with Betway clients and spokesman Alan Alger said: “First-timers have won ten of the last 14 Majors and Fleetwood showed in the US Open that he’s more than capable of keeping that run going. He’s been very popular with us and the 20-1 might not last for much longer.”

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