Lee Westwood tees it up in the Czech Republic for the first time in 19 years this week as he aims to keep himself in the thoughts of European Ryder Cup Captain Darren Clarke.
The Englishman is playing in the D+D REAL Czech Masters for the first time this week but has a good record in the Czech Republic, having achieved top tens in the Czech Open in 1995, 1996 and 1997.
Clarke handed Westwood a Captain's pick for the EURASIA CUP presented by DRB-HICOM earlier in the year and the 43 year old did not disappoint, taking three points from three as Europe beat Asia 18.5-5.5 in Kuala Lumpur.
Westwood is a veteran of nine Ryder Cups and, after a season that has seen him record three top tens and contend at the business end of the Masters Tournament and the US Open, he is hoping a good week at Albatross Golf Resort can earn him a tenth appearance.
"It's a long time ago but I remember playing well here in the past and it's nice to be back," he said. "The Czech Republic is one place where I haven't won around the world so I'll be giving it my all this week to try and get the win and win a few Ryder Cup points as well.
"All the players here are here to try and win the Czech Masters, if you do that everything else takes care of itself.
The Ryder Cup is still a few weeks away down the road. This is right here, right now, this week. We need to be focusing on this week - Lee Westwood
"I've had lots of conversations with Darren and he said at the start of the year, 'show me some form', and I've played pretty well over the year; second in the Masters, a few other top tens, played well in the Majors, played pretty good at the US Open, so I just want to try and keep playing well and be in form should I get picked for the Ryder Cup.
"If you look at the balance of the team, there are a lot of rookies. It's difficult if you're playing on home soil with that many rookies but going and playing in the States is even harder. It's a tough atmosphere to play in and it's always nice if you've got a few people on the team with a bit of experience."
Westwood is also hoping his presence - along with that of fellow potential Ryder Cup players Matthew Fitzpatrick and Andy Sullivan, and 1995 Open Championship winner John Daly - can help grow the game in the Czech Republic, just days after Justin Rose became the first man to win Olympic gold in 112 years.
"It's all of our responsibility, as you saw at the Rio Olympics last week, to try and grow the game around the world," he added.
"Justin was always very keen on it, as was Danny (Willett). He's been looking forward to playing in the Olympics for quite some time and it's great that he went there and took the gold.
"It seemed to go down well with all the players and was well supported and I think it was a massive positive for golf."
