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U.S. AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIPAugust 26, 2005Edoardo MolinariARDMORE, PENNSYLVANIA CRAIG SMITH: Edoardo, I don't know what seemed like a pretty easy match but you really didn't have it that easy, made some great up and downs from bunkers on the front nine. Start there. EDOARDO MOLINARI: Yeah, I played I started, got off to a good start in the first four, five holes, and then hit two poor tee shots on 7 and 8. Then two poor shots to the green but somehow managed to get up and down from the bunkers with two very good putts I think. Then I had a wonderful 5 iron on the ninth, which was about 12 feet away and holed another putt. Then No. 10, I was 2 up and he hit a very good shot to the green to about six feet, and it was almost 15 feet past the hole with a big, big break and managed somehow to hole that putt which was a huge one, so it was a big, big change in the match. CRAIG SMITH: I would say if I'm reading your body language, that was the key, the 10th hole and from that point, did you feel like you had a pretty good feel for the match? EDOARDO MOLINARI: Yeah, especially because I think as soon as you go if you go on top on the match on this course, then you just play safe, and if the other tries to attack the pin, it's very, very difficult to make many birdies. That's what happened after the 10th, he tried to go to every single pin and almost bogeyed every single hole coming in. After the 10th, it was just middle of the fairway, middle of the green and 2 putt. CRAIG SMITH: You had a better feel for yardages today than Mr. Van Der Walt did. EDOARDO MOLINARI: Yeah, I think he made a mistake on No. 12. It's tough to pick the right one sometimes, and he just made a mistake and went out of bounds. Q. When you came here this week, what were your expectations? Did you expect to be sitting here in the semifinals? EDOARDO MOLINARI: No, I really didn't. I just have no idea I would finish. But so far, so good, as you say. Q. You brought your dad with you. Take us through who is here with you, you have your caddie from the qualifier in Maryland. EDOARDO MOLINARI: Just Trevor, who caddied for me and my dad is coming over. He's been over here with me since last Wednesday, and then that's it. Q. You have played golf all over the world, in fact, so where have you played, what have you won, just some of those things. EDOARDO MOLINARI: I played almost all over Europe and I've been twice to Japan. I've never been to South Africa, and this is my first trip to competitive tournament in the U.S., actually. So looking good. Q. And go back to just the British Open. You were tied for fifth after 33 holes, so take us through what that was like. EDOARDO MOLINARI: That was a very, very funny week, because I actually lost all of my clubs going to St. Andrews. And then somehow managed to make it through the qualifying and then I played very, very well the first two rounds. There were thousands of people watching there, it was really a lot of fun. Q. Another question, I wanted you to explain the losing of the clubs to St. Andrews, was that an airline mishap? EDOARDO MOLINARI: Yeah, I flew from Milan to Edinborough to play the qualifying, and they lost my clubs. The guy who works for Ping on Tour managed to send me the clubs overnight to play in the sectional qualifying, so I owe him at least a very nice dinner. Q. You don't play with Ping then? EDOARDO MOLINARI: I play with Ping, yeah. EDOARDO MOLINARI: Yeah, yeah. Q. When did you come over to the States after the British Open? EDOARDO MOLINARI: I came to qualify for this one on the 25th of July, and then I got back home and then I came here Tuesday night with my dad. Q. So you specifically came for the qualifier? EDOARDO MOLINARI: Yeah, I did. EDOARDO MOLINARI: Yes. Q. Why did you not stay and play? Too expensive? EDOARDO MOLINARI: First of all, too expensive, and then I just wanted to go back home and have a few weeks off, baud I had been playing from the first day of July until the 25th, so I needed some weeks off. Q. Even as an amateur, with your schedule, you probably have to sit down at the beginning of the year and map out where you want to play. Was it always an objective of yours to play in the U.S. Amateur? EDOARDO MOLINARI: Yeah, it definitely was. I think the main, the biggest two tournaments I was going to play this year were the qualifying for the Open, and then this one here. So it worked out pretty well in the end. Q. If I'm not mistaken, looking at your bio, you're by academic training an engineer. Do you take that approach on the golf course? Do you play like an engineer? EDOARDO MOLINARI: Yes, sometimes I do. I n Italy, they call me "The Engineer" on the golf course, because I'm very meticulous, just trying to play the percentage, don't take any risk, don't do anything silly. So it helps on the golf course, as well. Q. How big of a deal would this be back in your homeland if you were to win this? EDOARDO MOLINARI: I have no idea. Just still a long way, so, I don't know. No idea really. Everyone was really, really happy after the Open week, the British Open, and then I know there's a lot of people following this at home. So I hope they will have fun tomorrow again. Q. You're a golfer in pretty much of a skiing part of the world. Turin is going to host the winter Olympics. Do you combine the two? Do you sky? How does that go over why your home? EDOARDO MOLINARI: I used to ski when I was a child until three or four years ago. Now it's been a while since he last skied, but I can go downhill. Q. Can you tell us a little about the Turkish Open and how that might compare to this? EDOARDO MOLINARI: That's not a big tournament in Europe. It's more of a season ending tournament. So maybe, I don't know, four or five players from each country usually go there just to have fun. It's really not a big tournament, but to win over there, it was fun, it was even more fun. Q. In your words, is this a big tournament? EDOARDO MOLINARI: This is I think this is the biggest, biggest tournament I've played apart from the Open Championship. So I'm really pleased to be playing so well in this tournament, yeah. Q. I know at the Eisenhower Trophy last year, your team was playing very, very well and had a lot of momentum and then the rain came and sort of ruined your chances for maybe winning that. EDOARDO MOLINARI: We're not so disappointed of the rain of last round, because, yeah, at first we would like to play and then they said that we were going to play nine holes only, which meant that third place was out of reach in nine holes, and you just got worse than fourth place. In the end we were quite happy about it and very happy as wall week long went by because, I mean, fourth place is the highest finish ever by an Italian team, so we were very pleased in the end. Q. What figure did you used to follow as a kid as a golfer? EDOARDO MOLINARI: First one was Nick Faldo probably because I grew up when he was winning majors all over the world. And then I know Sergio Garcia, I mean, I've been playing with him for two or three years when we were kids, so he was the second one. And now I think it's just Tiger. I think he's by far the best of them all. So he's the model of what you are trying to achieve. Q. Can you talk about playing golf as a kid in Turino, obviously golf is not the first sport of Italy, can you talk about that and what it was like trying to learn how to play golf and that kind of development? EDOARDO MOLINARI: Yeah, just I started to play golf because my parents played, and then it's quite a small sport in Italy but it's growing a bit in the last four or five years after Constantino Rocca played well in the Ryder Cup, and the Open has been growing a bit, and hopefully it will keep up in the future. Q. Said after the British Open it was kind of a big thing at home? What exactly was it like? EDOARDO MOLINARI: I don't know, I received I think more phone calls during that week than the rest of the year probably. The phone was ringing every single minute. And then I haven't actually been to my home golf course after the Open, so I think there will be a big party in September when I will be back there. And on our Website and newspapers, I was on the first page of the Gazette which is the most sold newspaper in Italy, sport newspaper in Italy, which is a very big thing for a golfer, because I think only Constantino Rocca when he played the Ryder Cup was on the first page of it, so it was nice. Q. What's the name of your home course? EDOARDO MOLINARI: Turino Golf Club. Q. Your English is wonderful. How many languages do you have the grasp of? EDOARDO MOLINARI: I just speak some English, some Spanish because it's very similar to Italian, and then I can understand French, but not good speaking it. Q. How hard is this golf course in comparison to the Old Course or some of the other difficult courses you've played? EDOARDO MOLINARI: I think, as I said yesterday, if you play a links course, the difficulty is not the course, but it's the conditions, because it can get windy, rainy and everything. But course wise I think it's the toughest I've ever seen by far. And then, you know, if you go on a links course as I said and you play with 60 miles per hour wind, that's tough but that's not playing golf anymore. Q. You were going to play a Mid Amateur, not someone who has a career in mind as a golfer, will that make a difference? EDOARDO MOLINARI: No, I don't think it makes any difference. I think he's a very good player if he got so far through the tournament. I think he's playing well, as well, so it could be a good match. Q. This will sound like a silly question but I'm only going to ask it in case it's a superstition or something. Will you shave tomorrow? EDOARDO MOLINARI: No, I won't. I never shave during a tournament, so for sure I won't do it tomorrow morning. EDOARDO MOLINARI: It's nice. I like a lot of cheeseburgers and stuff like that, so it's been good so far. Q. Do you understand what the import of a win tomorrow means to you? EDOARDO MOLINARI: It will be very important, but I mean, I'm happy to have gone so far in the tournament and then we see what happens tomorrow. Yeah, of course, it will be very important to win tomorrow, but you're never sure with this game. So I think he is a very good player and I think we'll have a very good match. Q. You understand, though that if you win tomorrow, even if you lost the tournament, you'd be in the Masters? EDOARDO MOLINARI: Yeah. (Laughter). EDOARDO MOLINARI: Yeah, it would be some fun. I still have to win tomorrow. Let's think about it tomorrow night. |
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