Fleetwood out to trash Ryder pal
TOMMY FLEETWOOD and Francesco Molinari will tee up together again today – competing for the titles of British Masters champion and European No.1.
‘The Moliwood’ dream team became the first European pairing ever to win all four matches in the Ryder Cup triumph last month. At Walton Heath, the dynamic duo, who are grouped together for the first two rounds, are the top two in the rankings for this season’s Race to Dubai with six events left.
Open champion Molinari said: “It’s going to be a little strange to try and beat each other instead of playing as a team. We can still celebrate each other’s success, but it will be different. It’s back to normal, really.
“We’re still going to go out for dinner one of these nights but I still need to try and beat him to stay ahead in The Race to Dubai.
“I can’t wait for the trash talk! It’s funny how things are, that, of all people, he’s the one right behind me.
“But I need to focus on what I’m doing. And I might not talk to him and give him a cold shoulder and see how he takes it!”
Despite feeling jaded, Fleetwood will play three more events following this week.
But Molinari, 35, will tee up just twice after the Italian revealed he suffered from a bad back in Paris.
He added: “On the Monday, I couldn’t do my shoelaces. I’m not a kid like Tommy. I need to manage my energies and my bodies.
“I started to feel it Saturday morning at the Ryder Cup and just started taking some antiinflammatories. It’s a week that you’re so pumped up with adrenalin that you could probably play on one leg. I can’t blame it on carrying Tommy for two days!” Tournament host Justin Rose, who was suffering from illness
yesterday, will return to world No.1 with a top-two finish.
He said: “It would be an achievement and a milestone that is huge to me. I want to get back there as soon as possible and winning here would be a great way to do that.” PADRAIG Harrington’s path to the Ryder Cup European captaincy in 2020 has been cleared with fellow vice-captain Lee Westwood wanting the job in Rome in 2022.
Westwood said: “I won’t be putting my name forward for this one, I’d prefer do it in Rome if possible. I’d like to be playing in two years’ time.”