Francesco Molinari is looking forward to playing in front of his home fans as he looks for a record third win at the DS Automobiles Italian Open.
The 2018 Open Champion arrives at Marco Simone Golf & Country Club fresh off a top ten at the BMW PGA Championship, another event he won in a glorious 2018 which also saw him claim five points from five in Europe's Ryder Cup victory in Paris.
The biennial spectacular will be he held here in Rome next September and Molinari is confident the fans will flock to the Italian capital this week as Ryder Cup fever builds.
"Playing the Italian Open is always special, especially for someone like me who has had success in the past," he said. "I won here for the first time in my second year as a pro and have always loved playing here in front of my home crowds. I'm looking forward to another good week this week.
"I think with the very strong field that we have this year, the crowds will be big. We are starting to kind of realise what's going to happen next year, which is going to be massive to have The Ryder Cup here in Rome. You can definitely start to breathe in the atmosphere and I'm sure the crowds will respond accordingly."
Injury has stopped Molinari recently hitting the heights of four years ago but after achieving his best DP World Tour finish since the 2019 Masters Tournament at Wentworth last week, he has his eyes on a fourth Ryder Cup appearance in 2023.
“I would love it,” he said. “I think, being at The Ryder Cup, I can imagine it's probably not easy to play at home. It's obviously not an easy event to play anywhere and at home, even more so.
"The excitement and adrenaline are unique, so to have a chance to play in front of your own fans and in your own country, it would be incredible.
"I've worked well the last few weeks at home, so the game feels like it's trending nicely. It's maybe not yet where I would like it to be but it's definitely moving in the right direction.
"I'll do my best hopefully from now on until next year to make the team and be a part of hopefully a winning European team here in Marco Simone."
