Portugal Colonial - Dry run for Ryder Cup captain Donald at Italian Open

The Marco Simone course on the outskirts of Rome is hosting the Italian Open for the third straight year and will also be the backdrop when Europe tries to wrestle back the Ryder Cup from the United States.

Europe were humbled by the Americans two years ago, thrashed 19-9 in the biggest win for any team in the tournament since 1967.

Qualification for the European team, captained by four-time winner Donald, is hotting up with a host of events coming between now and September when the eyes of the golfing world will be on Italy.

Donald's vice-captains Thomas Bjorn, Edoardo Molinari and Nicolas Colsaerts have been partnered together for the first two rounds so they can discuss strategy for the Ryder Cup.

"I think it is a great idea. I think you don't want to put too much pressure on the guys playing," said Molinari on Wednesday.

"You just want to let them get on and do their thing this week and see how it plays out.

"We will have a lot of discussions, go to dinner a couple of times and talk about players, possible pairings already and course set-up so there are a lot of things going on behind the scenes."

Donald said that he wasn't planning any major changes to the course between now and the Ryder Cup, meaning that what fans see this weekend will largely be what they see in September.

"I don't think you can change it too much in the next five months," said former world number one Donald.

"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.

"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."

Among those hoping for a spot on the team is Guido Migliozzi, who is playing on home turf this week and bidding to become the fourth Italian to play at the Ryder Cup after the Molinari brothers and Constantino Rocca.

Migliozzi, 26, has three tour wins to his name and is in decent form coming into the Italian Open, where he hopes to impress against a field in which the highest ranked player is France's Victor Perez.

"It is a dream to compete at a Ryder Cup, once in a lifetime, but to have a chance to compete in a Ryder Cup in Italy is more than a dream," he said.

"It is something that you cannot imagine so I will do my best to be a part of it."

A.S.Diogo--PC