THE general consensus is that Francesco Molinari is a calm, collected figure who tends to show about as much emotion on the golf course as a mannequin dummy, writes Nick Rodger.
His unwavering resolve during his epic Open Championship win at Carnoustie in the summer underlined those qualities of level-headed poise and impressively-managed passion as he stood firm amid the tumult of a pairing with Tiger Woods on the final day to emerge victorious and earn his maiden major title.
Here at the Ryder Cup in Paris, the canny Italian has burst out of that restraint and has been visibly boisterous. Cupping his ear to fans, pumping his fist, whipping up the galleries? This transatlantic tussle, the event where golf in general breaks out of its straitjacket, can have this effect on people and Molinari has loved every minute of it.
Who wouldn’t when you’ve won four matches out of four? In partnership with the super Tommy Fleetwood, Molinari and his wing man have been at the vanguard of Europe’s surge towards victory in the Ryder Cup.
In this very individual game, the rarity of team competition is always savoured and the unique pressures that this tussle brings are revelled in.
Asked bluntly how the adrenaline rush of the Ryder Cup compared to that in July when he won the Open, Molinari gave a simple answer. “Nowhere near, nowhere near,” said the Turin golfer, who had never actually gained a full point in any of his two previous cup appearances. “This has been absolutely amazing.”
The alliance of Molinari and Fleetwood brought four wins out of four over the course of the first two days as the duo became the first European pairing to ever achieve such a shimmering, unbeaten haul.
Not even those great, swashbuckling compadres, Seve Ballesteros and Jose Maria Olazabal managed such a feat during their own wonderful double act back in the day.
Striking up such a profitable partnership goes well beyond the golf course. “He’s one of my best friends, not just on tour but in life,” said Fleetwood. “You know, he has a lot of experience, he’s an amazing golfer and I’ve been very, very lucky to get partnered with Fran.
“We knew we wanted to play together. We just gel. I could give him all the compliments in the world and we have played very well. We were solid again and we just started riding that wave again. In the morning, I just kind of stood by his side and tried to hit decent golf shots and stay in the hole and let him go free.”
With a four-point lead heading into the singles, Molinari’s natural reticence remains a useful weapon in the armoury.
He may have been getting into all the Ryder Cup histrionics over the past couple of day but the 35-year-old is well aware of the work that needs to be done if Europe are to wrest the little gold chalice away from those American clutches. The grip has been loosened and Molinari is determined to prise it away
“We are getting closer but we still have those four and a half points to get and we’re going to have to fight hard for them,” said Molinari, who will face an out-of-sorts Phil Mickelson in today’s man-to-man showdowns. “They have 12 great players. It’s not going to be easy but we are going about this properly. We’re doing it the right way.”
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