Luke Donald names Europe's fifth and final Ryder Cup vice captain

European Ryder Cup skipper Luke Donald has named Italy's first major champion Francesco Molinari as his fifth and final vice captain.

Ben Smith

16 Aug 2023

Luke Donald names Europe's fifth and final Ryder Cup vice captain

Francesco Molinari admitted he began the year harbouring hopes he would make the Ryder Cup as a player after Luke Donald named the Italian as his fifth and final vice captain.

Molinari made his debut in the dust-up in 2010 and has never been on a losing side.

His biggest triumph undoubtedly came in 2018 when - weeks after becoming Italy's first major champion - he became the first European to win a maximum five points from five matches as Thomas Bjorn's side reclaimed the Ryder Cup at Le Golf National.

Francesco formed an iconic partnership with England's Tommy Fleetwood.

Unfortunately for Molinari his form began to dip shortly after he contended at the 2019 Masters that was won by Tiger Woods.

Earlier this year Molinari hit out at some of his critics by writing on social media:

"I'm honestly fed up with this idiocy, more or less openly expressed.

"Golf is a sport, I've had a decline in recent years because I've made wrong decisions on the course.

"No one is infallible, least of all me who has always made mistakes, even in the best of times

"One thing that has never been lacking is commitment and dedication.

"And I assure you that it is not missing now. Best wishes for a 2023 full of satisfactions to everyone."

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European Ryder Cup skipper Luke Donald has chosen Francesco Molinari as his final vice captain. pic.twitter.com/4lHVqqXCuU
— GolfMagic (@GolfMagic) August 16, 2023

Still, Molinari will be re-united with Fleetwood in a month's time as he has been named Donald's fifth and final vice captain.

Francesco will join his older brother Edoardo, Thomas Bjorn, Jose Maria Olazabal and Nicolas Colsaerts in helping out Donald.

Incidentally, this will be the first-ever all-continental line-up of assistant captains.

Donald told reporters it was an easy decision to appoint Francesco, adding:

"He has a tremendous individual career, but he is also Italian. I wanted him there no matter what, whether it was playing or as a vice-captain. With his brother there too, I think it is going to be pretty special, having both Edoardo and Francesco on my team representing team Europe but also representing Italy."

Molinari admitted he started the year with hopes of attending the Marco Simone Golf & Country Club as a player.

"But it is still a great honour to be there as a vice-captain," he said.

He added:

"I got a phone call from Luke asking if I was interested and obviously it was a clear answer from me. He is assembling a really good team of people.

"A lot of them are close to me in different ways. We've all shared the stage together already in some form and that helps when it comes to decision time and putting Luke and the players in the best conditions possible to perform at their best."

Automatic qualification for Donald's 12-man European side will conclude on 3 September.

Jon Rahm, Rory McIlroy and Viktor Hovland have confirmed their places.

Scottie Scheffler and Wyndham Clark have also qualified for Zach Johnson's U.S. side.

Donald will announce his six captains picks on 4 September.

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