British Open notes: Molinari brothers stick together near top of leaderboard

Edoardo and Francesco Molinari are pretty much inseparable.

The brothers were partners in Europe’s winning Ryder Cup side in 2010. A year earlier, they’d teamed up to win the World Cup for Italy at Mission Hills.

Now they are together on the British Open leaderboard.

About 30 minutes after Edoardo signed for a 4-under 68 in the opening round at Hoylake on Thursday, Francesco rolled in a 15-foot eagle putt at No. 18 to shoot the same score. They ended the day tied for third with five others.

“We were here on Sunday practicing together,” said Francesco, the younger sibling by nearly two years. “Probably we did a good job.”

For the 33-year-old Edoardo, it is a welcome return to big-time golf.

Since 2011, he has been beset by injuries, primarily to his left hand, on which he had surgery in 2012 and again last year. He also had problems with his left wrist.

Edoardo has been playing injury-free for the past seven months and a runner-up finish at the Irish Open last month secured his spot at the British Open.

It’s not the first time Edoardo and Francesco have been alongside each other on a leaderboard. In the last qualifying event for the Ryder Cup in 2010, they were the final pairing at the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles, and Edoardo finished with three straight birdies to win the tournament and seal a place on Europe’s team.

In 2009, they also went head-to-head at the Scottish Open, with Edoardo prevailing again.

“We don’t like to lose to each other,” Francesco said, “we don’t like to lose to anyone else.”

Just to maintain the Italian flavor at Royal Liverpool, Matteo Manassero shot 67 and is in second place behind Rory McIlroy.

“It’s good to see three Italians up there,” Francesco said.

Els’ shot hits fan

Ernie Els hit a spectator in the face with his opening tee shot at the British Open on Thursday, shaking up the two-time champion for the rest of his first round at Royal Liverpool.

The man’s injury and Els’ subsequent triple-bogey 7 on the first hole were just the start of his problems. The Big Easy will have a big task trying to stick around for the weekend after a 7-over 79, including 42 on the front nine.

Els said he was “quite rattled” after he realized the man, who he estimated was in his 60s, was bleeding profusely from a shot that Els said hit the spectator directly in the face.

“There was blood everywhere,” Els said. “It was like a bullet coming at him. I obviously felt pretty bad about it. It wasn’t nice. I was trying to hit it left, and should have told the starters to move the people back on the left side, but I didn’t do that.”

Els said he would make inquiries about the man’s recovery. Tournament officials said the spectator was not seriously injured.