Lee Westwood tees it up at the Italian Open for the first time in 16 years this week as he seeks the perfect preparation for the upcoming Ryder Cup.
It may have been a while but the Englishman will have fond memories of playing on Italian soil, achieving three consecutive top tens in the late nineties, including a tie for third in 1996.
A closing 75 saw him lose out to Jim Payne that year but he would achieve the first of his 23 European Tour wins later that summer at the Volvo Scandinavian Masters.
The 43 year old has had a brilliant career since then, winning the Order of Merit twice and playing on seven victorious Ryder Cup teams, and he is eager to add another title this week at Golf Club Milano.
"The first tournament I had the chance of winning was the Italian Open at Bergamo in 1996, I was one ahead going into the final round but had a really poor back nine on the last day and ended up finishing third," he said.
"That was probably the closest I've come to winning the event, so it'd be nice to add it to my CV this week.
"My game's in pretty good shape, I'm starting to hit the ball a lot better and my scoring's also a lot better. I got up and down when I needed to in Crans and managed to roll in a few nice putts, so things are looking pretty good.
"It looks like a very nice course, it seems tight off the tee so you need to be accurate.
The Italian Open has always been a prestigious tournament - Lee Westwood
"Hopefully I can get myself in contention and get the competitive juices flowing. Next week is a week off, I'll work on my game at home and do a bit of gym work to keep the body ticking over, but I don't want to overdo it because the Ryder Cup is obviously a long and tiring week, both mentally and physically."
While understandably much of the focus on the Ryder Cup relates to the contest at Hazeltine at the end of the month, in these parts excitement is also building for the 2022 contest at The Marco Simone Golf and Country Club just outside Rome.
Italy will host golf's biggest team event for the first time and Westwood can already feel the buzz around the venue.
"The Ryder Cup logo is everywhere and they're obviously very excited about it already," he said. "The Italian Open has always been a prestigious tournament in its own right."
