Open champion Francesco
Molinari said Tuesday it didn't matter what you've done so far
this season but only "giving your best over the three days" of
the upcoming Ryder Cup outside Paris from Friday to Sunday.
He also said he wouldn't change his style of play for the
classic US-Europe clash.
"It doesn't really matter what you've done so far. It's about
those three days and the kind of golf that you can produce in
those three days. So I'm looking forward to some good prep these
next few days and hopefully some good golf at the weekend,"
'Chicco' told a press conference.
"If they want me to lead, I'll try to lead with my style. I'm
not going to change anything for three days."
Molinari has been in the form of his life this summer,
claiming his first Rolex Series victory at the BMW PGA
Championship and finishing second on home soil at the Italian
Open the following week.
A first win on the US PGA Tour followed and then came that
glorious week at Carnoustie, with a tie for sixth at the US PGA
Championship last month meaning he had finished in the top 25 at
all four Major Championships.
He arrives at Le Golf National at Number Five in the Official
World Golf Ranking and while he admits he is a different player
to the one who last played in Medinah in 2012, he does not
believe his standing in the team room has changed.
"It's different obviously coming in after a season like I've
had," he said. "I think I've improved a lot as a player since
2012 and I hope to show that on the course this week.
"We are 12 players. I think the 12 of us are really, really
capable of great golf. I think this is probably the best Team
I've been part of.
"I think everything kind of resets this week and I'll do my
best. I'll see how many matches I'll play and whatever it's
going to be, I'll do my best to bring some points and try to
help the cause of the Team.
"One of the strengths of the European side I think has always
been making everyone feel the same. We all start at zero points
at the beginning of the week, so it doesn't matter if you won a
Major or if you won more than one Major, just how many points
can you win this week.
In Molinari's two previous Ryder Cups he has faced Tiger
Woods in the singles, losing in 2010 and claiming a half as part
of the dramatic Miracle at Medinah. Woods is back in Ryder Cup
action this week, returned from a career-threatening injury and
fresh off a first win in five years.
The 14-time Major Champion was also Molinari's playing
partner on Sunday at Carnoustie, but the 35-year-old does not
think there is any comparison between the pressure of a Major
and a Ryder Cup.
"You won't believe me but it's nowhere near," he said.
"Carnoustie was nowhere near Medinah or in any matching ways.
It's hard to believe but it's probably because you play for a
Team, you play for a continent in our case, and you know about
the tradition and what players have done in the past."
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