Francesco Molinari was the top Ryder Cup performer on the first day of the Italian Open on Thursday, two weeks from Europe’s showdown against the US in Illinois.
The Italian carded a four-under 68 at the Royal Park I Roveri course to finish the first round four strokes behind the leader, Sweden’s Joel Sjoholm.
Molinari, the 2006 winner of this tournament, was two shots better off than Ryder Cup teammates, Martin Kaymer and team captain Jose Maria Olazabal, while Nicolas Colsaerts was a shot further back on one under.
“It’s fun playing in front of the home crowd, but there is a lot of pressure and everyone wants you to do well,” Molinari said.
“It would be nice to give them a nice week, but it’s quite tough. It was nice to spend some time together [with Nicolas Colsaerts and Martin Kaymer] and I’m sure we will have a lot of fun in America as well. We talked a little about a few things, but not too much,” he added.
The Ryder Cup takes place at the Medinah Country Club in Illinois from Sept 28 to 30.
Meanwhile, 27-year-old Sjoholm, who missed the cut in his last two tournaments, was the first round leader after an eight under par 64.
“I want revenge. The last two weeks I actually played quite good golf,” the Swede said. “Normally when I score well, I have to putt well. The last few weeks I have putted quite poorly and missed the cut by one stroke. Both times I felt like I had a good chance to make the cut, but you have to forget and keep moving on.”
England’s Lee Slattery picked up three shots in his last four holes to snatch second late in the day on seven under.
France’s Victor Dubuisson, South Africa’s Keith Horne and Garth Mulroy, Northern Ireland’s Gareth Maybin and England trio Richard Bland, David Howell and Richard McEvoy all shot rounds off 66 to form a seven person tie for third place.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen go into today’s match at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim stung from their first league defeat in 16 months. Leverkusen were beaten 3-2 at home by RB Leipzig before the international break, the first loss since May last year for the reigning league and cup champions. While any defeat, particularly against a likely title rival, would have disappointed coach Xabi Alonso, the way in which it happened would be most concerning. Just as they did in the Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and in the league opener to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Leverkusen scored first, but were pegged back. However, while Leverkusen rallied late to
Taiwanese badminton superstar Lee Yang broke down in tears after publicly retiring from the sport on Sunday. The two-time Olympic gold medalist held a retirement ceremony at the Taipei Arena after the final matches of the Taipei Open. Accompanied by friends, family and former badminton partners, Lee burst into tears while watching a video celebrating key moments in his professional sporting career that also featured messages from international players such as Malaysia’s Teo Ee Yi, Hong Kong’s Tang Chun-man, and Indonesia’s Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan. “I hope that in the future when the world thinks about me, they will
If all goes well when the biggest marathon field ever gathered in Australia races 42km through the streets of Sydney on Sunday, World Marathon Majors (WMM) will soon add a seventh race to the elite series. The Sydney Marathon is to become the first race since Tokyo in 2013 to join long-established majors in New York, London, Boston, Berlin and Chicago if it passes the WMM assessment criteria for the second straight year. “We’re really excited for Sunday to arrive,” race director Wayne Larden told a news conference in Sydney yesterday. “We’re prepared, we’re ready. All of our plans look good on
When details from a scientific experiment that could have helped clear Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva landed at the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), the leader of the organization’s reaction was unequivocal: “We have to stop that urgently,” he wrote. No mention of the test ever became public and Valieva’s defense at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) went on without it. What effect the information could have had on Valieva’s case is unclear, but without it, the skater, then 15 years old, was eventually disqualified from the 2022 Winter Olympics after testing positive for a banned heart medication that would later
RSS