Mauricio Molina (golfer)

Mauricio Molina
Personal information
Born(1966-12-20)20 December 1966
Río Cuarto, Córdoba, Argentina
Died13 October 2023(2023-10-13) (aged 56)
Chile
Height1.72 m (5 ft 8 in)
Sporting nationality Argentina
Career
Turned professional1985
Former tour(s)European Tour
Canadian Tour
PGA Tour Latinoamérica
Tour de las Américas
European Senior Tour
Professional wins24
Number of wins by tour
European Senior Tour1
Other23

Mauricio Molina (20 December 1966 – 13 October 2023) was an Argentine professional golfer.

Career

Molina was born in Río Cuarto, Córdoba. He worked as a caddie in Buenos Aires, before turning professional in 1985. He was the nephew of the Argentine golfer, Florentino Molina.

Molina won several tournaments in Argentina and South America, including the Mendoza Open in 1999 and the Metropolitan Championship in 2009. In 1997 he shot 59 in the first round of the Náutico Hacoaj Grand Prix to set the record for the best round in Argentina.[1]

In 2009 Molina played on the Canadian Tour and recorded two victories at the Costa Rica Classic and Mexican PGA Championship, finishing the season in fourth place on the Order of Merit.

Molina played on the European Tour in 1998 and 2001, and the second-tier Challenge Tour between 2003 and 2008. His best tournament finishes were third at the 2004 Costa Rica Open and fifth at the Los Encinos Open in 2005.

Molina finished fifth in the 2018 European Senior Tour qualifying school to gain a place on that tour.

Death

Molina died on 13 October 2023, at the age of 56.[2]

Professional wins (23)

Canadian Tour wins (2)

No. Date Tournament Winning score To par Margin of
victory 		Runner-up
1 14 Dec 2008
(2009 season) 		Costa Rica Classic1 71-65-71-68=275 −13 3 strokes United States Rob Grube
2 20 Apr 2009 Corona Mazatlán Mexican PGA Championship 70-72-66-69=277 −11 Playoff United States Andy Matthews

1Co-sanctioned by the Tour de las Américas

Tour de las Américas wins (2)

No. Date Tournament Winning score To par Margin of
victory 		Runner(s)-up
1 14 Dec 2008 Costa Rica Classic1 71-65-71-68=275 −13 3 strokes United States Rob Grube
2 10 Oct 2010 YPF Classic2 67-69-68-68=272 −8 3 strokes Argentina Félix Córdoba, Argentina Rodolfo González

1Co-sanctioned by the Canadian Tour
2Co-sanctioned by the TPG Tour

TPG Tour wins (4)

No. Date Tournament Winning score To par Margin of
victory 		Runner(s)-up
1 15 Nov 2009 Campeonato Metropolitano 65-64-71-66=266 −14 1 stroke Argentina Gustavo Acosta, Argentina Roberto Cóceres
2 10 Oct 2010 YPF Classic1 67-69-68-68=272 −8 3 strokes Argentina Félix Córdoba, Argentina Rodolfo González
3 26 Feb 2012 Abierto del Sur 69-63-64=196 −14 4 strokes Argentina Rafael Echenique
4 20 Dec 2014 Tour Argentino Championship 78-66-65-65=274 −10 Playoff Argentina Nelson Ledesma, Argentina Francisco Ojeda

1Co-sanctioned by the Tour de las Américas

Chilean Tour wins (2)

No. Date Tournament Winning score To par Margin of
victory 		Runner-up
1 7 Apr 2013 Abierto Los Lirios 72-71-68-65=276 −12 5 strokes Chile Gustavo Silva
2 27 Oct 2013 Abierto Internacional de Golf Hacienda de Chicureo 71-69-72-70=282 −6 5 strokes Chile Santiago Russi

Argentine wins (2)

Cordoba Tour wins (2)

  • 2002 Río Cuarto Tournament
  • 2003 Villa María Tournament

Other wins in Argentina (5)

Other South American wins (5)

  • 1994 Ecuador Open
  • 2006 Hacienda de Chicureo Open (Chile)
  • 2012 Chile Open
  • 2013 Santa Augusta Open (Chile), CBG PRO TOUR Brasília (Brazil)

European Senior Tour wins (1)

No. Date Tournament Winning score To par Margin of
victory 		Runner-up
1 10 Oct 2021 Riegler & Partner Legends 66-66-67=199 −17 4 strokes Argentina José Cóceres

Results in senior major championships

Tournament 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
The Tradition NT
Senior PGA Championship CUT NT CUT CUT CUT
U.S. Senior Open NT CUT CUT CUT
Senior Players Championship
Senior British Open Championship T38 T64 T18 NT T43 T3 T53
  Top 10
  Did not play

"T" indicates a tie for a place
CUT = missed the halfway cut
NT = No tournament due to COVID-19 pandemic

References

  1. ^ "Mauricio Molina logró un score histórico: 59". La Nación (in Spanish). 29 August 1997. Retrieved 29 November 2009.
  2. ^ "Falleció Mauricio Molina" [Mauricio Molina passed away] (in Spanish). Asociación Argentina de Golf. 13 October 2023. Retrieved 13 October 2023.