Francesco Molinari admitted Continental Europe were beaten by the better side as Great Britain & Ireland won the 2025 Team Cup 17-8.
Justin Rose’s side won all four sessions in Abu Dhabi, wrapping up victory early on Sunday with Tommy Fleetwood’s singles win over Matthieu Pavon.
Molinari said: “Obviously disappointed with the week but we need to be fair - the GB&I guys played some great golf and they were better than us, on the greens especially, all week.
“I think I probably could have done a slightly better job with the boys. They gave it all they had. Our side was maybe more inexperienced players in this kind of event but they are great guys and they did their best. The GB&I team was just too hard for us this week.”
Continental Europe were hampered by the loss of Nicolai Højgaard to illness, robbing him of the chance to partner twin brother Rasmus as Julien Guerrier deputised.
“Yeah, definitely not ideal,” said Molinari. “Thomas Björn should have been a vice captain, and I think he was a bit sick all week. A few things went wrong from the start of the week.
“We missed Nicolai but to be fair, Julien showed up last minute and played some terrific golf. I'm glad the younger guys got exposed to this sort of environment, and yeah, we'll be back in two years trying to win it back.”
Molinari at least ended his week on a personal high with a stunning escape on the last hole to halve his singles match with Jordan Smith.
After sending his first shot into a waste area, Molinari spoke with vice-captain José Maria Olazábal and credited the Spanish spirit of the late, great Seve Ballesteros.
“Yeah, pretty good to be honest,” he said of the closing birdie. “Today we had a good game (but) we couldn't make a putt, both of us, for most of the round.
“Just a poor tee shot on 18 but then obviously I saw 'Chema', Olazábal, and I told him, ‘I need to channel my inner Seve to make four’ - seemed to work!”
