No dire straits for brothers in arms

GOLF RYDER CUP 2010:The Molinari brothers are not fazed as they get ready for their first Ryder Cup, writes Paul Gallagher

RYDER CUP rookies no longer need to be mollycoddled. Sweaty palms, butterflies in the stomach and knocking knees are still prerequisites, but seemingly gone are the days when a player is blooded under the protective wing of a more experienced team-mate.

Colin Montgomerie claims to have the strongest-ever European team at his disposal in Celtic Manor, yet half of his European dozen are rookies. What’s more, the Molinari brothers, Francesco and Edoardo, appear destined to play together when the action begins in earnest tomorrow.

The preamable during Ryder Cup week is a long, drawn out affair as hacks scratch around for a line amid the conjecture and speculation of who will be paired with whom come the end of the week.

As Montgomerie and US captain Corey Pavin keep their cards close to their chest, it appears increasingly likely the Italian siblings will stare into the cauldron of pressure that is the Ryder Cup as brothers in arms.

The all-Italian job plus Graeme McDowell and Rory McIlroy were the only players in the European camp to have played together for the second consecutive practice day. It was Monty’s clearest indication yet he has already decided two of his pairings for tomorrow morning’s fourballs.

“Standing on the first tee, obviously I will be much more nervous than a normal tournament,” said Edoardo, who at 29 is the elder sibling by almost two years. “In the team room we were told it’s normal to be shaking, to be nervous, but we were also told to go out and enjoy it as much as we can.

“I think Francesco and I would be an obvious partnership. That said, any of the 10 other guys on the team will be a good partner,” added Edoardo, who earned his place in Wales as a wild card after a storming, three-birdie finish to win the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles, the final counting event in the European Ryder Cup race. He also won the Scottish Open earlier in the year.

Francesco comes across as the more animated brother but both were ecstatic when they denied McDowell and McIlroy a win in the World Cup for Italy at Mission Hills in China last November. Make no mistake that performance – in a similar format to this week – will have fed into Monty’s decision-making process when it came to the “difficult” wild card selections.

“For us, maybe it’s weird to say, but it feels quite normal to be here together,” said Francesco, whose only individual European Tour win to date came at the 2006 Italian Open.

“We’ve had steady improvement during our careers and to get here step by step feels great. In many ways, though, I expected my brother to be here.”

It’s been quite a journey for Edoardo who lost his main tour card in 2008 before hoovering up on the Challenge Tour in 2009 when he won three times and finished top of the order of merit.

They become the first Italians to compete in the Ryder Cup since Constantino Rocca made his third and final appearance in 1997. Americans Joe and Jim Turnesa, plus Lionel and Jay Herbert, also played Ryder Cup (between 1927 and 1961), but the Molinaris are the first siblings to play in the same year in the modern era.

“It’s great for Italian golf and Italian sport in general. To have two of us here is something that only a few years ago was almost unthinkable,” added Francesco, who now lives in London while Edoardo is still based in Italy.

The Molinaris are set to be thrown in at the deep end, but with their notably steady games, instinctive knowledge of each other’s strengths and weaknesses, this pair of rookies are ready to step up to the plate.