Luke Donald expects that the set-up at Marco Simone Golf & Country Club for the DS Automobiles Italian Open will only undergo ‘minor tweaks’ for the Ryder Cup following this week’s tournament as he keeps an eye on a host of possible contenders for his team.
The former World Number One will captain Team Europe at the venue in September as they look to win back the coveted trophy against the U.S. Team later this year.
Italy’s national Open – which celebrates its 80th anniversary this week – is being staged at Marco Simone for a third consecutive year, providing players another look at the course in a competitive environment.
Asked for his thoughts on the course, Donald said: “I don’t think you can change it too much in the next five months.
“There might be some tweaks here and there but overall how you see it this week is how it is going to be playing in the Ryder Cup.
“We will gather some stats from this week, how certain holes are playing, where people are tending to hit it to and just try to tweak the course to our advantage a little bit.”
Donald has had a key say in course preparations for the eagerly anticipated 44th edition of the Ryder Cup, with several players in the field noting how the rough is noticeably thicker than in previous years.
Among those is Victor Perez, who finished third last year, missing out on the play-off with Robert MacIntyre and Matt Fitzpatrick by one shot.
The Frenchman is third on the DP World Tour Rankings in Partnership with Rolex after claiming his maiden Rolex Series title in Abu Dhabi at the start of the year and expects a tough but fair examination this week.
“They have split two bunkers on 14,” he said. “They have added a bunker on 12 so there have been a few changes, there is a bit more rough so I think they are trying to make it play a bit trickier.
“It has rained a lot in the last few days so it is playing soft so I think the scoring should be quite spread out.
“I think the good players are going to play great because with soft conditions you can still make a lot of birdies and I think the guys that are going to find the rough are going to get penalised a little bit more than in the past.”
The Italian Open marks the start of a long run of events in Europe through the summer months that are expected to see competition for qualifying spots in the former World Number One’s team heat up.
And Donald is hoping his Ryder Cup hopefuls can build on the momentum generated within the European ranks on both sides of the Atlantic over the coming months.
“I think [the race for qualification] is going to be very competitive,” he said. “Everyone strives to make Ryder Cups. It is the purest form of competition we have in golf. It is everything that is great in this sport, representing your country, your flag, playing for your teammates.
“People, even rookies, don’t fully understand it until they make the team. I have been so encouraged with the play so far from all the Europeans, both playing on the PGA TOUR and playing over here on the DP World Tour.”
Donald is joined by his vice captains Thomas Bjørn, Edoardo Molinari and Nicolas Colsaerts in Italy this week, with the trio partnered together for the first two rounds.
The Englishman says that decision was taken to enable them to facilitate any discussions around strategy that may be implemented come Ryder Cup week.
At previous events, the vice captains have often been split up and played alongside aspiring rookies – something that Donald says they will continue to at other events as the season progresses.
“They have been doing that consistently now for quite a few months and will continue after this week,” he explained.
“But I think this week just because it is here at Rome to have some of those conversations together on the golf course could be a big benefit so that was really the only thinking behind it.”
