The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Confident Molinari has the belief at last
‘More comfortable’ Open champion ready for world’s best
Open champion Francesco Molinari finally believes he is capable of competing against the best players in the world, despite his brain trying to tell him otherwise.
Molinari became the first Italian winner of a major with a nerveless display at Carnoustie, the 35-year-old carding bogey-free rounds of 65 and 69 at the weekend to hold off challenges from the likes of Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy and Justin Rose.
After taking 10 years to win four times on the European Tour, Molinari has now claimed three victories and two second places in the space of six events this season, securing a third Ryder Cup appearance in September and climbing to a career-high of sixth in the world.
“I definitely feel more comfortable playing with anyone now compared to a few years ago,” Molinari said ahead of the US PGA Championship at Bellerive Country Club. “I think just because I feel I’m a more complete player.
“I hit it a little bit longer; even though I’m not one of the big hitters, I don’t feel there’s as much difference as there was before. My chipping has improved a lot. My putting has improved a lot. My iron game, fortunately, has stayed the same or improved even a little bit. So it’s just a matter of confidence.
“I think for me the confidence comes from the work I’ve done in the last two, three years, recording a lot of the practices I do and seeing in the numbers that I’m getting better and better and better. So no matter what my personality thinks or my way of thinking wants me to think, I can see in the numbers that I’m getting better and better.”
Molinari will attempt to emulate Rory McIlroy in 2014 by winning the Open and US PGA in the same season but is not taking anything for granted against the strongest field in golf, with 98 of the world’s top 100 competing in St Louis.
“I know how hard I worked to win at Carnoustie and it’s not going to get any easier just because you’ve won once,” added Molinari, who was second at Quail Hollow 12 months ago.
“If anything it will be probably harder because there’s less time to prepare and more pressure and more expectations.
“So the mindset is the same. Try to make the most of all the hours of preparation I can have in the next couple of days and then just do my thing, go through the process like I did at Carnoustie.
“I think the main thing for me is not being obsessed by results and just being obsessed by what I can control and let the results be just the end product of that.”