Philip Price, who played a starring role in Europe’s victorious 2002 Ryder Cup side, will become the latest player to make his European Senior Tour bow as he prepares to tee it up at next week’s Italian Senior Open.
The Welshman famously beat Phil Mickelson 3&2 in the singles at The Belfry 14 years ago - having secured his spot in Sam Torrance’s side after showing superb form in 2000 and 2001 - before Paul McGinley secured the crucial half point as Europe regained the trophy they lost in 1999.
The following year Price claimed the biggest win of his career when he completed a bold wire-to-wire win in the 2003 European Open, a tournament to which he returned as a former champion last month in his first European Tour appearance of the 2016 season.
His previous two wins both came at the Portugal Open, the first one coming in 1994 before he bridged a gap of seven years to claim his second of three European Tour victories at the same event in 2001.
The Pontypridd-man has career earnings of more than €7million from 571 events, finishing inside the top ten on 50 occasions.
Price represented Wales at the World Cup of Golf nine times, played in the Alfred Dunhill Cup three times and made two appearances for GB&I in the Seve Trophy.
Joining Price in the 57-man field at the Italian Senior Open are ten further former Ryder Cup players including two-time player and two-time Vice Captain Des Smyth, as well as Barry Lane, Ronan Rafferty and Phillip Walton.
Italian Ryder Cup hero Costantino Rocca, meanwhile, will be playing in a Senior Tour event on home soil for the first time since the 2010 Sicilian Senior Open.
Two-time Senior Major Champion Roger Chapman will also make his fourth appearance on European soil in 2016 next week.
Seven winners from the 2016 season so far will also tee it up in Northern Italy, with Sweden’s Magnus P Atlevi the latest winner after emerging victorious at the Paris Legends Championship.
Adam Mednick, Atlevi’s compatriot, will be taking part in his second Senior Tour event after debuting in Paris. Similarly to Price, Mednick took part in the first round of the event on the day of his 50th birthday.
