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THE 148TH OPEN MEDIA CONFERENCE

April 2, 2019

Francesco Molinari

MIKE WOODCOCK: I think we're ready to make a start. Good morning, everyone. Welcome to our preview press conference for the 148th Open here at Royal Portrush. We are delighted that the 2018 Champion Golfer of the Year Francesco Molinari is able to join us from London this morning. If you wish to ask a question, please raise your hand and we will bring a microphone to you. Please give your name before asking a question and speak clearly into the microphone. Good morning, Francesco.
FRANCESCO MOLINARI: Good morning, good morning, everyone.

Q. If we can turn our minds back to that memorable week at Carnoustie last year, can you tell us how much of an impact winning the Open has had on your career?
FRANCESCO MOLINARI: It has been massive for me. A huge achievement and something that you dream to achieve as a kid, when you start playing as a professional and you wonder if you're going to be good enough to, you know, get across the line, and it was an incredible week for me. Obviously, great memories and it's had a great impact, with people recognizing me more and just around the world being told the Champion Golfer of the Year is something obviously I used to dream of, and to finally have it come true is a huge achievement for me.

Q. There's going to be a fantastic atmosphere at Royal Portrush, and today we've announced additional tickets will be available for fans. How much are you looking forward to playing in front of those fans when you defend the Claret Jug this year?
FRANCESCO MOLINARI: I'm sure it's going to be an amazing atmosphere. It was impressive to see how quickly all the tickets were sold initially, so nice to see the R&A giving more tickets available to the fans and, yeah, I remember playing there in the Irish Open the year after Darren had won the Open Championship and being paired with Darren the first round, and yes, it was something I still remember, so I can only imagine what the Open is going to be ‑ it is going to be even bigger, obviously, going back to Northern Ireland after so many years. Yeah, it is going to be nice for me, obviously ‑ defending is always special ‑ but defending in a place where the tournament has not been for so long I'm sure is going to be extra special.

Q. Congratulations on your Arnold Palmer win. What I wanted to ask you was, what's been the best reaction when you've handed the Claret Jug to someone? And in the few months before you come back to Portrush to defend, where do you want to take the Claret Jug to?
FRANCESCO MOLINARI: I will say the best reaction probably (laughter) ‑ my brother when he came to visit me in London. I think it was for the British Masters, so a few months later and, you know, just to see his face, holding the Claret Jug, you could just see the pure joy and it is one of the most iconic trophies in sport, in golf. Like I said before, I remember as a kid, both of us, my brother and me, dreaming about only getting into majors, so I think for him as well to hold the Claret Jug and to know that one of us had made it was an incredible feeling.
And where I'd like to take it ‑ I would say probably ‑ I would love to take it to my first teacher, golf teacher, first coach in Turin. I haven't had the chance unfortunately to be there yet. But, obviously, before giving it back, he was the guy who introduced me to golf and coached me until I was on Tour, in my first few years on Tour, but he was still very much part of the team and I think obviously deserves to hold it and see it, and he loves golf as much as anyone. So, I would love to again see his face holding the Claret Jug.

Q. Can you recall the course, the test, and how different is the test here to Carnoustie which has obviously special memories for you?
FRANCESCO MOLINARI: Yes, I remember most of it. To be honest, not every hole, but the general feel of the course. I remember the weather was not great for four days and it was a very challenging course, you know, with the wind and the rain and yeah, probably obviously not as flat as Carnoustie but a bit more elevation changes from what I remember. But, yeah, apart from that, just a very typical links challenge. The weather is going to play a huge part. But, yeah, I've got nice memories from the course, from the town. I remember it being a fun week. So I'm looking forward to going back there and seeing the changes to the course as well.

Q. Francesco, just first of all can you remind us of your Italian coach's name so we get the name right? You told someone before Christmas that one of the biggest things for you was managing your own expectations and I wonder how you are managing your expectations in the run‑up to the defense of your title?
FRANCESCO MOLINARI: Yes, the name of my coach is Sergio Bertaina, and he is the head pro in Turin in the golf club where Edoardo and I started playing and grew up. And, yeah, regarding expectations, probably it's going to be a big challenge defending in a major. It is always different when you defend any title. But obviously in a major, the pressure is going to be even more and the field is going to be the highest quality. So, there's still a lot of golf tournaments in between now and then. But that is in the back of my mind already, and I'll chat to Danny and all the guys around me to try and approach the week as well as possible.
I've planned for a couple of weeks off before to try and prepare as good as I can and show up there giving me the best chance possible. Then I think the main thing for me is going to be really to enjoy the week even though it is not going to be easy. Being a competitor, I want to do well. No matter how it goes, it might be the only time in my career that I get to defend a major title, you never know. So, I need to make the most of it and enjoy the reception I get from the crowd and just, yeah, you know, let it sink in even more.

Q. How surprised were you with the mainstream reaction back in Italy after your victory? What does it mean for the growth of the game in Italy?
FRANCESCO MOLINARI: The reaction was quite big, to be honest. Obviously, I think the success that I had in the months and weeks before the Open had already gained some attention and then achieving something like winning the Open Championship probably made the headlines, and it was great to see.
Italy, obviously, as a country, is not maybe in a great moment. So, I think that in some ways they're looking, as well, for Italians doing well and people to follow and to cheer on. So, it was great to see.
Since then, obviously, it's been still ‑ the attention has still been very good with the Ryder Cup and, yeah, the good successes that I've had. I'm doing my best, I think, as a player to promote the game in Italy and we've got the Ryder Cup coming. So, there's probably a unique chance to promote the game right now, and I just hope that as a country, we can make the most of it and introduce the game to a lot of youngsters that can become the future champions in golf.

Q. Just looking at this season's majors, your success last year, not just in the Open, but in the Ryder Cup, do you approach the Masters this year with a different attitude, with a new confidence that you can compete every time now in these events?
FRANCESCO MOLINARI: Yes, definitely, winning in Carnoustie gave me more confidence and more belief in my abilities. At the same time, I know, you know, golf is a tough business and a tough sport and things can change very quickly. I think the margins between the top players at the moment are quite small. So, you know, all I can do is control what I can control: My preparation, my attitude on the course. And I want to try to do that as good as possible. I'm honestly not going in with any expectations or anything like that.
Just like I said other times this year, I want to keep improving as a player. I think there's still room for improvement. I think I've got the right people around me to work on that. And then we'll see what kind of results I will get in majors, but in every tournament I play during the season. Obviously, I'm not a guy who plays too many tournaments and I try to show up at every tournament being prepared and doing my best to win or to do well.

Q. What did the win do for your confidence going into the Masters now?
FRANCESCO MOLINARI: To be honest, luckily, I won enough last year, and it's been obviously quite recent that I don't have to chase wins right now. It was a great bonus, obviously, the Arnold Palmer Invitational as a tournament, I love to have on my CV for the history of the tournament and for what Arnie did for the game. The main thing was for my confidence getting into the majors this season just to see that my game was still there and was trending up and improving, like we were saying, and I've seen, I will say, good signs so far. Hopefully, I can keep it going for the rest of the spring and the summer.

Q. Francesco, just you have played and won the John Deere last year before the Open. Can you talk a little bit about your schedule pre‑the Open, and are you going to defend the John Deere title?
FRANCESCO MOLINARI: (Laughs) I wish I won, but I finished second, so I want to improve to defend that title. No, to be honest, you know, schedule ‑ yes, I have the John Deere in mind on how to prepare for the Open at Portrush and to get ready in the weeks coming up to it. But there is some flexibility just now. There are some changes in my schedule over the next few weeks, so we'll see. It is trying to balance the energies, the family time obviously from now on with the majors being so close together is going to be a really busy time for all of us.
I think for me, it's important to get some time to disconnect, as well. So I will see closer to the Open. Probably six weeks before I will make a call on what the best way to approach it is, seeing how I'm playing, seeing how the energies are and all of that.

Q. The tournament you won just before the Open?
FRANCESCO MOLINARI: Quicken Loans.

Q. How long before, three weeks or so?
FRANCESCO MOLINARI: Yeah.

Q. Francesco, you mentioned that you needed to work on certain things in your game, or you are trying to work on certain things in your game. What are those? Secondly, can you talk about what you feel you need to do better at Augusta National to be more successful than you have been in the past?
FRANCESCO MOLINARI: Yes, I mean, the things I'm trying to do better are to be honest throughout the bag, there's not one single part of the game. I'm still trying to get a little longer off the tee. Trying to control the ball flight and the spin with my irons, it needs to be better. Chipping around the green is an area where I definitely can improve a lot. If I compare myself to some of the other guys, you know, there are top players in the world, and putting has been great, it's been improving. But again, with my coach Phil Kenyon we have plans going forward and things. We still would like to see improvements. So, there's a lot to do. Obviously, little by little, not expecting in one or two weeks to improve everything.
But I think the main thing is to have the long‑term goal of improving and, yeah, having some specific goals in that way, plan the work and then just do it with the guys around me. I think we are very good at doing that and then, you know, reassessing every so often to see how we're doing and adapt if we need to adapt.
Regarding Augusta, I think the short game and the putting are the two things that have let me down there in the past. Obviously because of the greens there, that's one of the biggest challenges. Hopefully, I can putt better and chip better around the greens this year and get a better result.

Q. Francesco, this time a year ago, you weren't playing brilliantly. You weren't playing badly. But you haven't had more than a few top tens in the previous 12 months. Then from the PGA in May you went on an extraordinary run ‑ three wins and two second places in the next six tournaments, one of those wins being the Open. What was it like, and how did you achieve that big step forward in your mid‑30s, having been around for a long time? Now you have backed it up with the Arnold Palmer Invitational win; how satisfying is that?
FRANCESCO MOLINARI: Yeah, I think what you saw last time was obviously the product of a few years of work. I've said it many times, three‑and‑a‑half years ago, towards the end of the 2015 season, I just sat down with the people around me, with my team, and expressed to them my desire to do more and to get better as a player. And as I was saying just now, we've started planning and thinking how to achieve that. Obviously, now inside, I think I can say we took some good decisions. But then it takes time.
You know, like I was saying, it's not stuff you change overnight. You need to work at it. The results sometimes don't always show the improvement. And I think it just took time for everything to come together, to gel together, and then, yeah, I started winning. It went well last year, and my confidence, my belief went up and I just carried that into the next few weeks, hopefully, culminating into winning the Open, which was, so far, the best week in my career.
So, I think there was a little time after that where I needed to really realize what I had done in all those weeks but especially in those four days at Carnoustie and just let it sink in. I think after that, again, we picked it up again with my team, started working again, again to get better and to improve, and had a good chunk of time off this winter to get ready for the season, and again, that seemed to pay off now. I'm in good form, playing well. And looking forward to all the majors coming up.

Q. I'm 58 years old; my dream is to still win the Open Championship. What are your dreams for this season and for the seasons to come?
FRANCESCO MOLINARI: (Chuckles) To be honest, I've achieved my dream ‑ that was winning the Open last year. I've achieved another dream that was to, you know, be one of the best players of the Ryder Cup and help Europe winning, winning the trophy back. So, I think I'm at a stage where I've achieved my dreams and whatever comes now is going to be a bonus. I still have a lot of desire and a lot of, you know ‑ I want to win more. I got a taste of it last year and it was great.
I think, for me, winning is a huge motivation and spurs me on to do even more, and that's what I've done this winter, working as hard as I have ever done. And I think you can see the way I'm playing, that, you know, I didn't settle, I didn't stop. Like I was saying before, the dream is to keep improving, to ‑ I feel like I haven't reached my limit yet. So, the dream is to see how far I can go and hopefully get as many wins as possible along the way.

Q. R&A have announced today that you'll be able to wear shorts during practice rounds. I wondered whether you will be taking them up on the offer. And further to that, whether from a grow‑the‑game point of view, you'd support shorts being worn by the pros during competitive rounds during Major Championships?
FRANCESCO MOLINARI: Yeah, why not, on the shorts. I mean, obviously, it would be a change in golf. But I don't see why not to be honest. There's people playing golf in shorts all around the world. So I don't see why we should be different. I'm aware that it might take time and we'll see. I don't think it will be a priority in Portrush this summer! (Laughs.)

Q. Francesco, at the Arnold Palmer Invitational you said after the final round you thought that was the best you had ever putted. I wonder now, looking back, do you still think that was the case, that you putted brilliantly in spells last week as well? Are you putting as well as you ever have done?
FRANCESCO MOLINARI: Yes, yes, I feel as confident as I have ever been in my putting. I think obviously, naturally, you will have some weeks that are better than others because you read the lines better, you're more in sync with the pace. Yeah, I still think probably so far it's the best putting week of my career. I think the stats show that as well. Last week was good, but you know, match play is also a bit different. Carnoustie was another very good putting week.
I think to be honest, what I meant ‑ I kind of see my long game was a little bit better than what it was at Bay Hill. Bay Hill, I played okay, but I would have never won without making all those putts, so that's what I meant. Yeah, hopefully, the putting is trending up and Augusta will be a good test and hopefully I can pass that test and just keep putting like I am for the rest of the season.
MIKE WOODCOCK: We will bring proceedings to a close there. Francesco, thank you for giving us your time this morning. It's been fantastic and we look forward to seeing you here in July.

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