Ryder Cup winning hero, Francesco Molinari revealed he couldn’t even tie-up his shoelaces the day after helping steer Europe to victory in Versailles.
Now the quietly-spoken Open Champion is looking to tie-up a first Race to Dubai No. 1 title.
Molinari became the first European Team player to win all five matches and this coming after being the first Italian-born golfer to win a Major in capturing the 147th Open Championship.
The London-based Molinari tees-up in this week’s British Masters enjoying a commanding Euro 1.2m lead over Ryder Cup team-mate and current European No. 1 Tommy Fleetwood.
And to whet the appetitie of Walton Heath fans organisers have grouped Molinari, Fleetwood and their Danish team-mate, Thorbjorn Olesen for the opening two rounds.
Francesco Moinari and Tommy Fleetwod – currently one and two on the 2018 Race to Dubai
“It’s going to be a little strange to try and beat each other instead of playing as a team,” said Molinari.
“Winning the Race to Dubai is the big goal I have, but there’s Tommy and many other guys who are chasing me.”
“This summer has been a bit of a blur,” the 35-year-old Italian added. “It’s been going fast with so many things happening and really not enough time to rest and recover.
“My back at the end of the Ryder Cup was not great. On Monday, I couldn’t do my shoelaces. I’m not a kid like Tommy. I need to manage my energies and my body.”
After this week, Molinari’s only event before the season-ending DP World Tour Championship in Dubai will be the WGC-HSBC Champions event in China, while Fleetwood will compete in that event and also in the Turkish Airlines Open.
Fleetwood, 27, admits he is feeling “jaded” after a gruelling season as he tries to catch Molinari and win the Race to Dubai for a second year in succession.
“I might get nowhere near and it’s a stretch as a goal to think about it, but I’d love to play Dubai with a chance,” said the Englishman. “I’d love to get in contention in a couple of events and maybe win one.”
Tournament host Justin Rose can return to the top of the world rankings with a top-two finish.
“Reaching world number one is an achievement and a milestone that is huge to me,” he said. “Obviously I want to get back there as soon as possible and winning the British Masters as tournament host would be a great way to do that.”
