Italy will host the Ryder Cup for the first time when the biennial event heads to Rome’s Marco Simone Golf and Country Club in 2022.

Ryder Cup director Richard Hills will be in Germany, Spain, Italy and Austria over the next month to help the European Tour decide which nation is best placed to host the 2022 Ryder Cup.

Turkey might be nominally bidding for the 2022 Ryder Cup — their true target is 2026 — but what was once a huge empire is determined to become a major power again with golf and tourism at the top of the agenda.

Two weeks after struggling to break 90, Miguel Angel Jimenez carded a flawless 63 to claim the lead after the first round of the £4.5m Turkish Airlines Open.