LONDON (AP) — Francesco Molinari, who earned the decisive half point against Tiger Woods the last time Europe won a Ryder Cup in the United States, is back as a vice captain on Luke Donald’s team for September’s event at Bethpage Black in New York.
The Italian joins his brother, Edoardo, Thomas Bjørn and José María Olazábal as vice captains this year. All four were also vice captains under Donald in 2023 when Europe won the Ryder Cup at Marco Simone outside Rome.
In 2018, Francesco Molinari became the first European player to win all five of his matches in a Ryder Cup as Bjorn’s team triumphed at Le Golf National in Paris. Earlier that year, he won the British Open at Carnoustie, becoming Italy’s first major champion.
“It is going to be a big challenge at Bethpage,” Francesco Molinari said in an announcement Monday. “You just have to look at the stats to see how difficult it is to win the Ryder Cup away from home. It hasn’t happened that often recently, so it is a big challenge but it is a big opportunity to try to do something that, if it does happen, will be remembered for a long, long time.”
Molinari said he wants to “transmit my experience” of when he faced Woods at Medinah in 2012 for Olazábal’s squad. The victory became known as the “Miracle at Medinah.”
“Medinah still has a special place in my memories, and in my heart, and I would be really happy and really proud to see this generation of players complete something like that,” Molinari said.
Added Donald on Molinari, “He knows how to win Ryder Cups, having been on three winning teams, and I think that’s really important for us. We obviously have a tough task ahead of us trying to win away in New York.
“I think he brings a very calm head,” Donald said. “He is someone who listens a lot and has good ideas. He speaks up when he feels like he needs to. I love his demeanour. He just doesn’t seem to get too flustered. He doesn’t seem to get too high or too low. I think that’s going to be important in a place like New York, an away Ryder Cup.”
The Ryder Cup is scheduled for Sept. 26-28.
AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf
FILE - Francesco Molinari, of Italy, watches his tee shot on the second hole during the third round of the Mexico Open golf tournament in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, Feb. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano, File)
ADELBODEN, Switzerland (AP) — The big surprise of the World Cup slalom season scored his second win Sunday adding to his fast-rising reputation before the Winter Olympics.
Paco Rassat raced to the fastest time in the second run to rise from fourth place, and push two Norwegians down the podium steps after they had been fastest in the morning run.
United States-born Atle Lie McGrath was edged out by 0.18 seconds and first-run leader Henrik Kristoffersen dropped to third, trailing 0.20 behind Rassat.
The 27-year-old Frenchman had a career-best result of ninth in World Cup races before this Olympic season started.
Rassat now has two wins, a third place and two sixth places this season and shapes as a medal contender for the Milano Cortina Olympics. The men’s slalom is on Feb. 16 at Bormio.
“To win on this crazy hill at Adelboden, It’s something really unbelievable," Rassat told Swiss broadcaster RTS, describing his season as “a magnificent surprise.”
Rassat also took the lead in the seasonlong World Cup slalom standings, ahead of his France teammate Clément Noël, the defending Olympic champion. Noël tied for eighth Sunday.
McGrath was runner-up in the Adelboden slalom for the third time in four years.
“It’s kind of crazy,” said McGrath, whose father Felix skied for the U.S. at the 1988 Calgary Olympics. “I’m of course super happy, it’s such a challenging slope and mentally it’s one of the toughest places to perform because of this amazing crowd.”
Another packed finish-area crowd at Adelboden observed a minute’s silence before racing for the victims of the fatal fire in a bar in nearby Crans-Montana on New Year’s Day. Crans-Montana hosts men’s and women’s World Cup races in three weeks’ time.
The World Cup overall standings leader, four-time title holder Marco Odermatt, does not ski slalom and his huge lead was cut a little by Lucas Pinheiro Braathen, who placed fourth. Pinheiro Braathen was second to Odermatt in the classic giant slalom Saturday.
The men’s World Cup circuit stays in central Switzerland for the storied Lauberhorn meeting at Wengen, for a super-G on Friday, the classic downhill Saturday and a slalom Sunday.
AP skiing: https://apnews.com/hub/alpine-skiing
Norway's Atle Lie McGrath reacts at the finish line during an alpine ski, men's World Cup slalom, in Adelboden, Switzerland, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)
Norway's Henrik Kristoffersen reacts at the finish line during an alpine ski, men's World Cup slalom, in Adelboden, Switzerland, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)
France's Paco Rassat speeds down the course during an alpine ski, men's World Cup slalom, in Adelboden, Switzerland, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Giovanni Zenoni)
France's Paco Rassat reacts at the finish line during an alpine ski, men's World Cup slalom, in Adelboden, Switzerland, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)
Finland's Eduard Hallberg speeds down the course during an alpine ski, men's World Cup slalom, in Adelboden, Switzerland, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)
Norway's Atle Lie McGrath speeds down the course during an alpine ski, men's World Cup slalom, in Adelboden, Switzerland, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Giovanni Zenoni)
Norway's Henrik Kristoffersen ahead of an alpine ski, men's World Cup slalom, in Adelboden, Switzerland, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)
Norway's Henrik Kristoffersen speeds down the course during an alpine ski, men's World Cup slalom, in Adelboden, Switzerland, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)
