Defending champ has a wild ride in the opener
Nov. 3, 2011 - 8:10 AM ET
Francesco Molinari opened his title defense of the World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions with a 2-under-par 33-37=70, finishing five strokes back of the overnight lead.
The Italian shared the field high with seven birdies, and got it to as low as 5-under through 16 holes, but double-bogeyed the par-5 eighth and bogeyed the par-4 ninth to fall back into the pack. Molinari accepted the exemption into the Hyundai Tournament of Champions at the top of the year, but he declined PGA TOUR membership. Should a PGA TOUR member win this week, he will be awarded a three-year exemption.