Francesco Molinari relishing ‘extra special’ Open defence

Francesco Molinari is looking forward to being the defending champion at The Open Championship.

The Italian, who is 29.00 to win The Open Championship outright, claimed his first and so far only major crown at Carnoustie last year.

Molinari, who also won the Race to Dubai and starred for Europe in the Ryder Cup, admits he initially struggled to handle the pressure of being at the very top.

The 36-year-old has enjoyed a solid 2019 so far, having managed a tie for fifth at the Masters and a tie for 16th at the US Open – his best results in those events – and will now attempt to defend a major for the first time at Royal Portrush.

“The win last year came after a certain period of time where I played some really good golf, so expectations kept rising almost every week I was playing, but I think now I’ve learned to do a decent job of managing that,” he told the European Tour website.

“This week is going to be extra special. Any week that you defend is special and especially at the major championships, so it’s going to be another new experience for me.

“My approach is going to be to try and enjoy as much as possible and I think like I did at the Ryder Cup last year, try to almost soak in the energy from the crowd and help me perform as good as I can.”

Tiger Woods is rated at 21.00 to win The Open Championship outright, Rickie Fowler is available at 34.00 and Jon Rahm is 17.00.