Edoardo Molinari hopes to rekindle fond memories as he returns to the scene of Europe's 2010 Ryder Cup victory for the Celtic Classic.
The Celtic Manor Resort hosts the fourth leg of the six week UK Swing and Molinari will hope to enjoy the success from ten years ago when he helped Team Europe regain the Ryder Cup from the United States in Newport.
Molinari was a Captain's Pick by Colin Montgomerie for the 2010 event and played alongside brother Francesco on the Saturday in foursomes against Zach Johnson and Hunter Mahan. They lost that contest but the Italian pair halved their fourball match against Stewart Cink and Matt Kuchar.
For the first time in Ryder Cup history, the final session was played on a Monday and he picked up another halve during his singles match against Rickie Fowler to help secure a 14½-13½ victory.
And the 39-year-old hopes to reignite those memories during the next two events, which will be held at the Newport venue.
"It’s a golf course that I love, I have great memories from the Ryder Cup and the Wales Open, I played here a couple of times," Molinari said.
"It brings back a lot of fantastic memories, playing with Francesco and the whole team, and managing to win that Cup by half a point. It was a fantastic week. The weather, so far, looks good, let’s see what the next few days bring us. It’s always a very enjoyable week here.
"I have two memories – the first tee with Francesco on the first day, which still gives me goosebumps ten years on. Then the last few holes in the singles against Rickie Fowler, I remember how busy it was, how many people were watching. I’ve never seen that many people be so loud on a golf course.
"It’s always a little bit of help, this year I have been hitting the ball quite good but struggled with my putter. I’ve been working on that the last few weeks and hope I’m turning a corner. It’s always nice to come back to a place where you have had some success."
The three time European Tour winner skipped last week's English Championship but hopes to kick on with his game after returning to action with two missed cuts at the Betfred British Masters hosted by Lee Westwood and Hero Open.
"I spent time with the family, it’s not easy these days when you’re in the bubble and can’t travel with anyone," Molinari added. "So I enjoyed my time with my wife and kids, and the dog, played some golf obviously to get ready for this week.
"I think it’s way different to what we used to have. It’s a little tougher with a lot of restrictions but it is, by far, the right thing to do. If we want to start playing golf it’s the only way and in the future there’s no possible way to play tournament golf than staying in the bubble and respecting the policies."
