2018 Open Championship: Francesco Molinari wins at Carnoustie Golf Links (Championship Course)
Francesco Molinari won the 2018 Open Championship at Carnoustie Golf Links (Championship Course), Scotland with 276 (−8), by 2 strokes over Kevin Kisner and Rory McIlroy and Justin Rose and Xander Schauffele.
Updated October 23, 2026
See 2018 in The Open room, or every year on The Open winners list.
- Dates
- 19 July 2018 to 22 July 2018
- Course
- Carnoustie Golf Links (Championship Course), Scotland
- Edition
- 147th Open Championship
- Format
- 72 holes of stroke play
- Par
- 71 · 7,402 yards
- Purse
- $10,500,000 · winner's share $1,890,000
- Trophy
- Claret Jug (replica to winner)
- Champion
- Francesco Molinari · age 35 · Italy · born Turin, Italy
- Champion's title
- 1st Open title
- World ranking entering
- No. 15
- Winning score
- 70-72-65-69 = 276 (−8) · won by 2 strokes
- Runners-up
- Kevin Kisner (278), Rory McIlroy (278), Justin Rose (278), Xander Schauffele (278)
- 54-hole leaders
- Kevin Kisner, Xander Schauffele, Jordan Spieth (204) · Francesco Molinari was 3 strokes back
- Deciding hole
- No. 14, round 4
- Low amateur
- Sam Locke (293)
Top 11 as recorded
| Pos. | Player | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | Total | To par |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Francesco Molinari | 70 | 72 | 65 | 69 | 276 | −8 |
| T2 | Justin Rose | 72 | 73 | 64 | 69 | 278 | −6 |
| T2 | Rory McIlroy | 69 | 69 | 70 | 70 | 278 | −6 |
| T2 | Kevin Kisner | 66 | 70 | 68 | 74 | 278 | −6 |
| T2 | Xander Schauffele | 71 | 66 | 67 | 74 | 278 | −6 |
| T6 | Eddie Pepperell | 71 | 70 | 71 | 67 | 279 | −5 |
| T6 | Tiger Woods | 71 | 71 | 66 | 71 | 279 | −5 |
| T6 | Kevin Chappell | 70 | 69 | 67 | 73 | 279 | −5 |
| T9 | Tony Finau | 67 | 71 | 71 | 71 | 280 | −4 |
| T9 | Matt Kuchar | 70 | 68 | 70 | 72 | 280 | −4 |
| T9 | Jordan Spieth | 72 | 67 | 65 | 76 | 280 | −4 |
What happened at the 2018 Open Championship
Paired with Tiger Woods on Sunday, Molinari played the weekend without a bogey and birdied the 18th to set the target at -8.
Justin Rose shot 64 in round three and climbed into a four-way tie for second.
Molinari made a two-putt birdie at the par-5 14th, which Golf.com calls "his tidal-change moment"; he added a birdie at the 18th.
How this was built
Every value is shown as recorded in GNN's The Open data. A value no source confirmed is left out; nothing is estimated. Where sources disagree, the organizer's own record is used.
Data: the-open.json (The Open room's data), with GNN's Open Championship addendum tables L (top ten by round), H (deciding hole), W (final-day weather).