Right as reign
Molinari happy to adjust to life as major champion
PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland — Francesco Molinari has a problem. Make no mistake: It’s a good problem to have. We all should have such issues. If realizing a life-long goal draws more attention to you than you’d prefer, it’s something you’ll live with. This is the plight for Molinaro, the quiet Italian whose world was rocked in a good way when he outdueled Tiger Woods in a scintillating final round a year ago to capture the Claret Jug as the British Open champion at Carnoustie.
“It changes your life, really,’’ Molinari said Monday as he began preparation to defend his title at Royal Portrush. “Especially for a guy like me that likes to go a little bit under the radar and doesn’t really need the attention … it changes a lot in terms of everyday life, getting recognized by more people, commitments.
“Every tournament you play there’s more things to do — obviously time with the media, but also with sponsors and various different things to do. One is just the time you need to spend on things that maybe before you weren’t thinking about too much. It’s even more impressive to think of the guys who have won a lot more major championships. They face a different challenge to some other guys.
“The time you have to prepare for tournaments is not the same and you just need to learn to make the most of it and do things many times in a shorter time than before.’’
Molinari, who was scorching-hot entering last year’s Open, seems to have figured out a way to handle the added responsibility that comes as a major champion. It’s not as if his performance has dipped since he hoisted the Claret Jug last July.
He won the Arnold Palmer Invitational in March, finished third in the WGC-Match Play and had a chance to win the Masters in April, finishing tied for fifth.
Molinari said he “wasn’t prepared’’ for how to handle the added expectations — from himself and those on the outside — that came with last year’s title.
“It was quite a big challenge, especially at the beginning, to get used to it,’’ he said. “I guess it’s something you learn to deal with, especially [when] the win last year came after a certain period of time where I played some really good golf. So, expectations kept rising almost every week I was playing.
“I think now I’ve learned to do a decent job of managing that. Obviously, this week is going to be extra special. Any week that you defend is special — especially at the major championship. So it’s going to be another new experience for me.
“My approach is going to be to try and enjoy as much as possible. Like I did at the Ryder Cup last year, try to almost soak in the energy from the crowd, and help me perform as much as I can, as good as I can.’’
Molinari lost the lead at the Masters in the final round when he hit his tee shot into the water on the par-3 12th hole and never recovered as Woods seized control of the tournament.
Asked how that Masters experience might help him this week, Molinari said, “It depends on what position I get into Sunday.
“All kind of experiences help you going forward,’’ he said. “I’m sure if I’m going to be lucky enough to be in contention on Sunday, obviously the experience from Carnoustie last year will help me and the experience from the Masters will help me. When you lose, in a way you want to forget about it as quickly as possible. But obviously then you analyze it and see what’s going wrong, if something has gone wrong. And you try to do better next time.
“So I can’t wait to get another chance and see if I can do better.’’
In the meantime, there is a tangible reminder of Molinari’s British Open win on the wall at a local ice cream shop, which has a rendering of him on display.
“I’ve seen it on Twitter, online,’’ Molinari said. “I haven’t been there yet, but my family is coming out later on in the week, so it might be a good treat with the kids. They’ll be happy getting ice cream. They probably won’t even notice what’s on the wall.’’