Golf: Molinari, Migliozzi in trial run for Ryder Cup

(ANSA) - ROME, JAN 11 - Italy's only major winner, 2018 British Open champ Francesco Molinari, and the country's current number one Guido Migliozzi will be doing a trial run for this year's Ryder Cup in Rome and hoping to impress captain Luke Donald at the Hero Cup in Abu Dhabi this weekend.
    Turin-born Molinari leads the Continental Europe team in the tournament, and he has picked Vicenza-born Migliozzi as one of his mainstays.
    It will be a major chance for the two Azzurri to advance their case for inclusion by Donald in the team that will face the USA at the Marco Simone Golf & Country Club outside the Italian capital from September 29 to October 1.
    In Abu Dhabi, Team Europe faces Great Britain and Ireland, which is captained by Tommy Fleetwood, a great friend of 'Chicco' Molinari.
    At the 2018 Ryder Cup in paris they led the Old Continent to Ryder glory, annihilating Tiger Woods and company.
    "When you play a sport that is mostly individual, playing team competitions is always special," said Molinari, adding that it would be "interesting" to be captain.
    "We have a very talented team and I'm sure they will be great days".
    As well as Migliozzi, Molinari can count on Belgians Thomas Detry e Thomas Pieters, Poland's Adrian Meronk, Dane Nicolai Hojgaard, Frenchmen Victor Perez and Antoine Rozner, Sweden's Alex Noren and Austrian Sepp Straka.
    Fleetwod's team includes Ewen Ferguson, Tyrrell Hatton, Shane Lowry, Matt Wallace, Callum Shinkwin, Robert MacIntyre, Seamus Power, Jordan Smith and Richard Mansell.
    The tourney will be without many top players such as Rory McIlroy (world number one), Jon Rahm, Matt Fitzpatrick and Viktor Hovland, while there has been controversy over the absence of Spain's Adrian Otaegui, after he played four events on the breakaway Araba superleague, LIV Golf.
    The Hero Cup format is similar to the Ryder Cup and will be a true trial run for the highly anticipated event at Rome in the autumn. (ANSA).