Unable to pick stalwarts of the tournament, Lee Westwood, Sergio Garcia, Graeme McDowell and Ian Poulter, Luke Donald has had to look to some younger stars of the game.

Both sides will have new faces on their teams this year and in the European ranks, young star, Ludvig Aberg – who won his PGA Tour card earlier this year – will head up a group of young players looking to win back the trophy in Rome this weekend.

He’ll be joined by Sepp Straka, who also makes his debut in the tournament after a fantastic season on the PGA Tour and DP World Tour, as well as Robert MacIntyre and Nicolai Hojgaard – also making their first appearances at the biennial event.

‘I certainly have a lot of belief in my team,’ Donald, a four-time Cup winner said earlier this week. ‘I know it’s going to be a difficult next few days. The US are very strong and we are coming off our worst defeat ever in a Ryder Cup. They have some great partnerships and have had a lot of success.

‘We have our work cut out but you have to have belief.’

Within the group there are some experienced names. Notable among them is Justin Rose who has five appearances in the tournament, winning 14 points for his team during those appearances. Shane Lowry was a huge figure in the European team last time out at Le Golf National, alongside Tommy Fleetwood and Viktor Hovland, who is perhaps the most in-form golfer on the team sheet right now, clinching the BMW Championship and the Tour Championship to win the FedEx Cup in August.

Then there comes four-time major winner Rory McIlroy and world No 2 Jon Rahm, two golfers who are set to lead Europe this week.

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Post source: Daily mail

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