“I could finally relax” – Continental Europe captain Francesco Molinari reacts to the Hero Cup win

Francesco Molinari’s Continental Europe side won the 2023 Hero Cup on Sunday. The team kept its early lead from Day 1 to beat Great Britain & Ireland. The final scores stood at 14.5 to 10.5.

Continental Europe’s win had some strong performances from skipper Molinari himself. Following the event, the golfer addressed the pressure of leading his team from the front and said that he “could finally relax.” The Italian opened up about beating the Tommy Fleetwood-led side and said that the competition was intense. The skipper lauded his team and wished them well for the remainder of the season.

Speaking after winning the Hero Cup, Francesco Molinari said, as quoted by the Irish Golf Desk:

"Amazing. I could finally relax. The last couple of hours have been tense after finishing my game. But yeah, it's been great all week, super happy for the guys. Like I said all week, it's been very, very easy leading them and being a captain for them. I think we found some really good pairings and just had a great week to start the year and I can only wish them all best for the rest of the season.”

He further stated that it was “fun” to spend time with fellow European golfers at the Hero Cup in Abu Dhabi.

"Many, many things. Like I said, many pairings seemed to gel really, really well, which was great. Made my job a lot easier because I didn't have to tinker and change too much. Just spending time with some of the guys, the younger guys that maybe I didn't know as well, it's been great fun.

"Invaluable, really, especially for the younger guys, but even for us, to play match play, just get the juices going early, this early in the year, it's a great event. We really enjoy it. The DP World Tour has done a great job at setting it up. Obviously, the crowds have enjoyed it as well.”

The golfer also addressed the upcoming Ryder Cup and said that he was looking forward to the competition. Molinari dubbed the Hero Cup, an event planned as a stepping stone to the Ryder Cup, as “great motivation.”

He added:

“It's a great motivation for me. I need to be careful; it's a long way away, and there's a lot of golf to be played in between and a lot of goals, intermediate goals to get there. So just focus on my game. Like you said, it's definitely much better than it's been. So hopefully I can play some good golf and be in Rome. Being in Rome would be absolutely incredible.”

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Tommy Fleetwood disappointed by the Hero Cup loss

Great Britain & Ireland captain Tommy Fleetwood wasn’t happy with the result. Despite the event being treated like a friendly between the European sides, the Englishman said that he was “disappointed” with the loss. The golfer stated that he came to the event expecting a win. However, he went on to laud his teammates and said that they gave their 100 percent on the field.

Speaking after the Hero Cup loss, Tommy Fleetwood said:

"Of course I am (disappointed). It's not always about how you play. Obviously, we came here to win, and we wanted to do it for each other, but at the end of the day, the first thing that I said at the start of the week was teammates don't remember if you play bad or you miss a putt or you lose a point, but everybody remembers if you don't give it 100 per cent, and I couldn't have asked for any more from anybody this week.”

The English golfer lauded the event and said that he had “moments to cherish.”

He added:

"It's been amazing and it's been an amazing experience for me. I wish we could have got it done, but at the same time, you do; you remember these moments forever and you cherish them… They played great all week, and even right until the end you saw them holing the putts that mattered.”

It’ll be interesting to see how the two Hero Cup captains and their players fare in Rome when they go up against a strong US side for the Ryder Cup.