BMW PGA CHAMPIONSHIP

September 9, 2021

Francesco Molinari

Wentworth Golf Club

Quick Quotes

Q. Thoughts on a round of 69 today?

FRANCESCO MOLINARI: Yeah, pretty good. Hit the ball pretty well. Just a couple of wide tee shots but played solid. Missed a few chances but played well. Mostly on the fairway and on the green, so that's what you want to do around here.

Q. Being a past champion, what can you take coming into this week?

FRANCESCO MOLINARI: I mean, obviously it's a course that I enjoy playing but in the end, it's just how you play on those four days. It doesn't really make that much of a difference. The course is in unbelievable shape. I think it's the best conditions I've seen ever. So it's always nice to be here. Hopefully I can put together another three good rounds.

Q. You had a nice run from 11. Talk us through those three birdies?

FRANCESCO MOLINARI: Yeah, played them pretty well. Holed some putts. I think the difference was just holing the putts. I had chances most of the day and didn't convert many of them but it's a long week. You've got to be patient and anything under par around here, it's always a good score.

I'll take another 3-under if I could. Kiradech, obviously a great round today, but it's a long week like always in golf and especially around the course like here. There's a lot of trouble on the course. Just play my own game and see what's the best I can do.

Q. Do you feel like your game is improving steadily as you move forward?

FRANCESCO MOLINARI: Yeah, a little bit. I've been improving and playing the last 2 1/2 weeks now with no issues, which hasn't really happened since the beginning of the year. So that's the biggest positive I take out of these three weeks.

Q. Tell us about the injury.

FRANCESCO MOLINARI: I just had back problems most of the year starting from May onwards until recently. So you know, it's obviously in an ideal world, we just stop playing for three months and recover fully and do all the rehab and all of that. But it's pretty hard to do in professional sports to see how, especially after sitting out last year already, I was keen to play a little bit more.

But yeah, the main thing, it's obviously that I'm feeling better now and looking forward to the end of the year and next year.

Q. Confidence going further the rest of the week?

FRANCESCO MOLINARI: I think more than anything I'll take confidence from how I hit the ball. Last week in Italy I started pretty well and played poorly over the weekend, hit the ball poorly over the weekend. It was nice to see some improvements today from then, and just a matter of putting four good rounds together.