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ARNOLD PALMER INVITATIONAL PRESENTED BY MASTERCARD

March 7, 2019

Francesco Molinari

Orlando, Florida

Q. One of the more interesting rounds. Obviously highlighted by the ace at 7. Talk us through that if you would.
FRANCESCO MOLINARI: Yeah, it was a good distance for a 4-iron, wind off the right, just flushed it straight at the flag and luckily it went in, yeah. It was great, especially also given the moment, didn't have a great start, doubling the 4th, so I was trying to get back to level par as quick as possible and obviously that's pretty quick.

(Laughter.)

Q. What happened with the double? Your caddie said you had a mud ball of some sort.
FRANCESCO MOLINARI: Yeah, I hit a good tee shot, but it didn't release and then there was a bit of mud on the ball. And I tried to hit 3-wood anyway and probably shouldn't have. It went straight left into a bush, I tried to play it from the bush and didn't move it, unplayable. So it was a good 7 in the end.

Q. Pretty happy obviously with the come back then after that start.
FRANCESCO MOLINARI: Yeah, definitely. It was disappointing to start like that because I played the first three holes really well and hit a good tee shot on 4, so I wasn't really expecting that. But, yeah, I was patient and kept it going. I'm playing well like I was playing well in Mexico two weeks ago, so I think things are looking good.

Q. You had a tough start to the start of your year being sick, did that knock you off?
FRANCESCO MOLINARI: I was supposed to play at Riviera, but I got the flu from my daughter two weeks before and I just wasn't ready to travel when it was time to travel so we decided to delay until Mexico.

Q. Did you lose weight, did that have an effect on you?
FRANCESCO MOLINARI: No, it wouldn't hurt to lose a little weight. No, the first week I was in bed, high fever, really feeling not well. Then the second week my fever went down but I was still weak and just not ready to try and get ready for the tournament play.

Q. You say you got it from your doctor?
FRANCESCO MOLINARI: From my daughter.

Q. How has the club change been? That would be an adjustment for you, I would imagine. Are you happy with the way the process is going?
FRANCESCO MOLINARI: Yeah, we always, all of us probably say the same, but honestly for me it's been very easy, the new ball has been really good, the irons fantastic, the woods have taken a little longer, but now I feel like I've got some good clubs in the bag. I drove the ball beautifully today, so, yeah, pretty smooth.

Q. I know your brother's been big into analytics and statistics for awhile in his game. Have you gotten into it and do you study stuff?
FRANCESCO MOLINARI: No. We play different. No, no, I ask him for advice sometimes and he introduced me to Mark, so sometimes I talk to Mark, but I try to keep it quite simple. There's a lot of people obviously in my team behind me and they have time to look at it and pass on to me what they think is relevant.

Q. When you do look at them are there certain stats that mean more to you than others?
FRANCESCO MOLINARI: Not really. When I look at them I look at shots gained in general, different parts of the game and, yeah, I mean, I think it's a good way to see where your game is at. But then there's a part as well of your feelings when you're out on the course and sometimes they don't quite go together. So it's a balance between the two.

Q. Do you ever get surprised when you look at the stats and then think, well, no, I don't think that makes sense, I feel better, I feel good about that part of the game, yet my numbers don't show it?
FRANCESCO MOLINARI: I mean it doesn't happen very often, I think sometimes like on the putting, like in Mexico, I remember I made a couple of putts from the fringe, so around the green stats were very good and the putting stats not so good and so you need to be aware of that and obviously balance it out.

Q. Do you feel different at the start of this year as a major champion? Does it feel any different to you starting out?
FRANCESCO MOLINARI: I feel, yeah, more confident, obviously doing it once and winning tournaments like I did last year that I hadn't done in the past has been a good boost of confidence and, yeah, I feel the game is still improving, I think there's still margins of improvement and if anything I feel better than last year, so hopefully another good season is ahead.

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