Donald retains ‘stats guru’ Molinari for 2025 Ryder Cup

Edoardo Molinari will return as a vice-captain to Luke Donald at the 2025 Ryder Cup when Team Europe will attempt to defend their title at Bethpage Black.

Molinari was one of Donald’s five vice-captains in Rome last September and played a key backroom role, providing statistical analysis as Europe surged to 16.5-11.5 triumph over Team USA to regain the Ryder Cup, and is the first player selected to fulfil the same role for Donald’s second tournament at the helm.

“Edoardo is someone I have got to know very well over the last couple of years and he’s going to be a great addition again for the 2025 Ryder Cup,” said Donald.

“He plays a very significant role. He’s playing full-time out here on the DP World Tour, he’s a good player, a Ryder Cupper and he knows what it’s all about. He’s around the players a lot and he works with a lot of players on their statistics as well.

“I’ll lean heavily on him with the qualification criteria and then when we get close to the matches, how the team is forming, how their skillsets match to the golf course at Bethpage and whether they’re more foursomes-related pairings, fourballs-related players, and putting those pairings together.”

Molinari, a winner with Team Europe as a player at Celtic Manor in 2010, expressed his delight at returning to the position and teaming up with Donald again for Europe’s attempt to win the Ryder Cup on US soil for the first time since Medinah in 2012.

“Luke called me the very day he was named captain, a little before the official announcement, and said he really enjoyed working with me in Rome and would like my help again,” said Molinari.

“We had another chat about a week later, maybe 30 or 40 minutes on the phone, chatted about a few things and he asked me and I said of course, I would happily do it all over again.

“I think Rory [McIlroy] put it best in the press conference after Rome, he said the most difficult thing in golf these days is to win an away Ryder Cup. It hasn’t been done in many years now, Luke was part of the team in Medinah, the last one that Europe won away, and hopefully we can produce something similar.

“I cannot wait. I’ve never been part of an away Ryder Cup. I heard it will be very tough, very difficult, you need to have a lot of patience and calmness, but I cannot wait to get started. I cannot wait to be at Bethpage with the whole team, it’s going to be a long two years waiting for that week, but it will be extremely exciting and hopefully we can win again.”

The Ryder Cup will take place on September 26-28 2025. The USA are yet to name their captain.

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Source : Sky Sports