SITTING PRETTY

Rose more hopeful about Euro Ryder Cup rookies as team starts to take shape

- CARL MARKHAM

RYDER CUP winner Justin Rose admits he is more hopeful for the transition of new players into Luke Donald's team than he was a year ago.

Europe are seeking to regain the trophy in Rome in September and while the team will have some familiar names - most likely Jon Rahm, Rory McIlroy, Tyrrell Hatton, Matt Fitzpatrick, Viktor Hovland and Tommy Fleetwood there will be some rookies making their debuts.

The fallout from the LIV Golf breakaway, ruling out the likes of Sergio Garcia, has helped accelerate the turnover as players such as Germany's Yannick Paul, Poland's Adrian Meronk and Frenchman Victor Perez push for inclusion for the first time.

Ahead of this week's British Masters, Rose said: "I'm hopeful for the transition [more] than I would've been a year ago.

"I like the way the team is shaping up so far, so good. I think we're coming into that last few months of a really important time. The European team looks to have a really strong base."