|
HOYLAKE, England -- Edoardo and Francesco Molinari are pretty much inseparable. cheap jerseys from china . The brothers were partners in Europes winning Ryder Cup side in 2010. A year earlier, theyd teamed up to win the World Cup for Italy at Mission Hills. Now they are together on the British Open leaderboard. About 30 minutes after Edoardo signed for a 4-under 68 in the opening round at Hoylake on Thursday, Francesco rolled in a 15-feet eagle putt at No. 18 to shoot the same score. They ended the day tied for third with five others. "We were here on Sunday practicing together," said Francesco, the younger sibling by nearly two years. "Probably we did a good job." The brothers have been feeding off each others games ever since they dominated their local club championships at Circolo Golf Torino as teenagers. "It was a big thing growing up in Italy," Francesco said. "At our age, there werent that many golfers playing well so there was someone that you could compete against every day -- even just training with him every day, it was good to get the best out of our games." For the 33-year-old Edoardo, it is a welcome return to big-time golf. Since 2011, he has been beset by injuries, primarily to his left hand, on which he had surgery in 2012 and again last year. He also had problems with his left wrist. Edoardo has been playing injury-free for the past seven months and a runner-up finish at the Irish Open last month secured his spot at the British Open. "The toughest time was after the first surgery when you undergo one surgery one time, then you hope its the last one," he said. "And then to do it again something like a year later wasnt fun at all. But hopefully, touching wood, everything is fine now." Its not the first time Edoardo and Francesco have been alongside each other on a leaderboard. In the last qualifying event for the Ryder Cup in 2010, they were the final pairing at the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles, and Edoardo finished with three straight birdies to win the tournament and seal a place on Europes team. In 2009, they also went head-to-head at the Scottish Open, with Edoardo prevailing again. "We dont like to lose to each other," Francesco said, "we dont like to lose to anyone else." "I saw the leaderboard," he added about his round on Thursday, "but its a tough course so you have to focus on what you are doing rather than the others are doing, even if its your brother." Just to maintain the Italian flavour at Royal Liverpool, Matteo Manassero shot 67 and is in second place behind Rory McIlroy. "Its good to see three Italians up there," Francesco said. "Im sure its going to be good for the kids watching us at home." Golf doesnt normally get much attention in Italy, but that may be about to change. "Italy at the moment is more about team sports, football in particular," Francesco said. "Im sure tonight they will be talking about us." Cheap Arizona Diamondbacks Jerseys . -- One of the byproducts of quarterback Matt McGloins rise to the top of Oaklands depth chart last week was the production of rookie tight end Mychal Rivera. nfl jerseys china . -- Dwyane Wade was a late scratch from the Miami Heats starting lineup against the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday night because of nerve irritation in his left foot, leaving his status for the All-Star game in doubt.SCHLADMING, Austria -- Hannes Reichelt has been ruled out of the Olympics because of a back injury, leaving the Austrian Alpine speed team without its main medal hope in Sochi. The Austrian ski federation said Monday that Reichelt had to undergo surgery in a sanatorium in Innsbruck for a herniated disk, only two days after winning a World Cup downhill in Kitzbuehel, and therefore has to end his season prematurely. "I am glad I had my back checked today because the consequences (of skiing on) could have been bad for me," said Reichelt, who became the first Austrian in eight years to win the classic Kitzbuehel race. "The X-ray speaks for itself and surgery is unavoidable," Reichelt said. "Health comes in first place and I want to keep doing sports after my career. Unfortunately my Olympic dream is in shatters." Reichelt had been complaining about persistent back problems for weeks. They almost prevented him from starting in Saturdays race but he took medicines to ease the pain. Austria mens head coach Mathias Berthold called Reichelts absence in Sochi "a massive blow to all of us." The Austrian mens ski team failed to win any medal at the Vancouver Olympics in 2010. For the technical races in Sochi, overall World Cup champion Marcel Hirscheer is a strong favourite, but Austrias hopes for the downhill and the super-G were mainly with Reichelt. Cheap Tigres Jerseys. He is the only Austrian skier to win a downhill in the past two seasons. "I feel extremely sorry for Hannes. He misses out on the most important race of the season," said Berthold, who was expected to announce a replacement later Monday. "We knew before the downhill in Kitzbuehel that Hannes wasnt doing well," the coach said. "That he still won the race is almost incredible." Berthold said it wasnt an option for Reichelt to rely on painkillers to take part in the Olympic downhill on Feb. 9, the first Alpine event of the Games. "His condition is that bad, it would have been medically irresponsible to ski even once more," Berthold said. Besides his triumph in Kitzbuehel, Reichelt had four more podiums in World Cup speed events this season. He has seven career wins. His only Olympic race was the super-G in Turin in 2006, where he finished 10th. The federations sport director, Hans Pum, said Reichelt "was in the form of his life." "This is obviously really bitter," Pum said. "But health is the most important. We wish him all the best and a speedy recovery and hope he returns soon."wholesale jerseys cheap jerseys ' ' ' |
