With seven of Darren Clarke’s European Ryder Cup team playing at the Italian Open, there is a definite Ryder Cup flavour to the draw for rounds one and two at Golf Club Milano.
Two-time Major championMartin Kaymer, Masters championDanny Willett and two-time European Tour winnerMatt Fitzpatrickwill see plenty of each other ahead of the Hazeltine showpiece, with the Ryder Cup trio drawn alongside one another at 13:40 from the first tee.
The star grouping will attract plenty of attention, not least because they were a combined 55 under par at the Italian Open last year, when the trio all finished inside the top three.
It will be a much earlier wake-up call for Ryder Cup stalwartLee Westwood, debutantRafa Cabrera Belloand home heroFrancesco Molinari, with that high quality three ball set to get their Italian Open challenges underway from the tenth tee at 08:40.
The younger of the Molinari brothers will be looking for a repeat of his 2006 heroics, when he became the first Italian to win his home Open for 26 years near this week’s venue, at Castello di Tolcinasco G&CC.
Westwood, meanwhile, will be teeing it up in Italy for the first time in 16 years, while Cabrera Bello will be looking to continue his remarkably consistent season, with the Spaniard yet to miss the cut so far this season.
The other marquee group pairs last week’s home winner at the KLM Open,Joost Luiten, alongside Ryder Cup rookieAndy Sullivanand Ryder Cup vice captainPadraig Harrington.
To see who the seventh Ryder Cup player,Chris Wood, and defending championRikard Karlberg will be playing with over the first two days, and for all the other groupings,please click here.
