Golf

Francesco Molinari seeks Ryder Cup spot after Hero Cup win

Francesco Molinari seeks Ryder Cup spot after Hero Cup win

Francesco Molinari has confirmed that he has his eyes firmly set on representing Europe at the Ryder Cup this year. This year’s edition of the tournament is being played in Rome, which would make it a home event for Molinari and he would relish the opportunity. 

Molinari has clearly got the appetite for team golf after captaining Continental Europe to victory in the inaugural Hero Cup last weekend. Molinari’s side won 14.5-10.5 in the tournament designed to give European players some Ryder Cup-style experience. 

Molinari captained Team Continental Europe while Tommy Fleetwood captained Team Great Britain and Ireland. Ryder Cup captain, Luke Donald was on the course for all three days in Abu Dhabi as he begins to consider his team ahead of the main event in Rome later this year. 

Afterwards, Molinari spoke about his delight at securing the win. He said: It’s amazing – I can finally relax. I’m super happy for the guys. It’s been very easy leading them and being a captain for them. I think we found some great pairings and it has been a great week to start the year. 

Meanwhile, Fleetwood couldn’t hide his disappointment at defeat but was pleased with the effort and spirit that his team showed throughout the weekend. He said:

“Obviously we came here to win and wanted to do it for each other. But the first thing I said at the start of the week was teammates don’t remember if you play bad or miss a putt, but everyone remembers if you don’t give 100 per cent and I couldn’t have asked for any more.

Continental Europe clearly deserved it this week, they played the best golf. Some matches could have gone either way, but the winning team makes those moments count.”

molinari flag

All roads lead to Rome

With the Hero Cup out of the way, attention turns towards the Ryder Cup in September and Molinari is already staking his claim for a spot in Luke Donald’s team. It will be the first Ryder Cup since the inception of the LIV Golf Tour which means qualification routes for players have changed. 

Molinari believes his game is in better shape than it has been for a while and is confident of securing a spot on the team. If he is successful in doing so, then it will be his fourth appearance in the competition after playing in 2010, 2012 and 2018. He said:

“It’s a great motivation for me. I need to be careful; it’s a long way away and there’s a lot of golf to be played in between and a lot of goals, intermediate goals to get there. I just need to focus on my game – it’s definitely much better than it’s been. Being in Rome would be absolutely incredible.”

Donald’s reaction to the Hero Cup

Luke Donald, meanwhile, has been waxing lyrical about the Hero Cup. Upon being appointed as Team Europe’s captain, Donald was keen to introduce the event and he believes he’s learned a large amount from the weekend’s events. He said:

“If I’d gone straight into Rome without having any of this experience, I think it would have been a much tougher job. To be in this environment and know where you’ve maybe made some errors and correct them going forward, has been invaluable.”


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