Francesco Molinari is looking forward to playing his part in the European Swing on the DP World Tour as he makes his return to the continent for a debut appearance at the Soudal Open.
Beside his role as a playing Captain at the Team Cup in Abu Dhabi in January, the Italian has played solely on the PGA TOUR so far this season.
But this week sees Molinari join a host of international stars at Rinkven Golf Club for a tournament that boasts a rich history, dating back to 1910.
Molinari is also intending on playing at the KLM Open next month, while he is a two-time winner of the Italian Open, to be held at Argentario Golf Club in Tuscany from June 26-29.
Both – like the Soudal Open – are national opens, a key theme of the European Swing which runs through to the BMW International Open in July.
"I'm really looking forward to it," said Molinari. "It's an event that I've been watching on TV, growing the last few years.
"It's always nice to play national events, national opens. I'm sure that the crowds will be great.
"I think they're the core of the DP World Tour. For guys like me, like Nicolas Colsaerts, coming from smaller golfing nations, our national opens are the fifth Major growing up for sure.
"So, I know how much Belgians care about this week. I think it's one of the things that makes this tour special and starting now, especially in the summer, there's going to be a lot of very cool European events.
"Hopefully I can be part of a few of them at least."
Best known for his Major Championship victory at The Open in 2018, in the same season he contributed five points from five as Europe won the Ryder Cup and claimed the Race to Dubai, the 42-year-old is hopeful he can rediscover some form to reflect the work he has put into his game.
He arrives at Rinkven on the back of coming up short in his bid to qualify for next month's U.S. Open at Walton Heath on Monday, where his brother Edoardo came through a six-man play-off to secure a spot, but he is upbeat some good results will soon come his way.
"I didn't have a good day on the greens, but I saw some pretty good stuff," he said of his performance at Final Qualifying for the third Major of the season.
"I'm sort of happy where it is at the minute. Obviously, you'd like to see some results to get some confidence.
"But I can't complain really where it is. I think it's just a matter of keeping at it.
"I've had some good rounds this year. I've been struggling a bit to get four good rounds together, so hopefully that will happen this week."
Known for its tree-lined fairways, the parkland layout at Rinkven puts a premium on accuracy off the tee - something the six-time DP World Tour winner built a reputation for earlier in his career.
"I've studied the course a little bit, stats wise. I think from what I saw on TV, it's a course that I'll definitely like," said Molinari, who will play alongside recent first-time DP World Tour winners Martin Couvra and Eugenio Chacarra.
"I haven't had a chance to be out there yet, but I'm looking forward to the week.
"I think from what I've seen, it's firm like it's going to be this week, it's definitely challenging to hit fairways.
"It's not particularly long so I don't think we're going to hit too many drivers from what I saw, there's going to be a lot of long irons off the tee, but it's definitely a positional golf course.
"So, keep the ball in play, try to obviously take advantage of a few shorter clubs off the fairway and that's the key."
Molinari is one of several players with Ryder Cup history in the field, including home favourite Nicolas Colsaerts.
The three-time DP World Tour winner, a member of the European team that produced the Miracle at Medinah, is proud to once again be playing under the Belgian flag in a home event.
UAE-based Colsaerts is one of 14 Belgian golfers - either professional or amateur - in this week's field that includes multiple DP World Tour winner Thomas Pieters.
"This is where we all grew up," said Colsaerts. "It has a special taste when you come and play a tournament back home, see faces that you sometimes have not seen for ten, 15, 20 years.
"I think the tournament organisers have been doing an incredible job since they took over the tournament and I've never really had the chance to shine in Belgium, so I'm extremely grateful to have the chance to walk the fairways in front of people that have been following my career for the last 25 years.
"I'm extremely grateful for that and living abroad, living in a different country, there's a lot of things that I miss about home. I'm really happy to be back. It's always a pleasure to come back and I'm extremely proud of where we've been able to put Belgium on the golfing map the last 25 years."
