Luke Donald drops hint about Ryder Cup plans after opening round of British Masters

Luke Donald has hinted team "continuity" from the last Ryder Cup in Rome will have a significant impact on his plans for next month's showdown in New York.

It is possible that the European team for Bethpage could feature 11 of the 12 players that starred in the victory over Team USA at Marco Simone two years ago.

Rory McIlroy, Bob MacIntyre, Tommy Fleetwood, Justin Rose and Tyrrell Hatton have already qualified for Donald's team, with Shane Lowry occupying the final automatic spot with one week remaining.

Lowry would be ousted by Rasmus Hojgaard if the Dane finishes inside the top 29 at the British Masters, although the Irishman would be a hot favourite to be one of Donald's captain's picks.

Jon Rahm, Sepp Straka, Viktor Hovland, Ludvig Aberg and Matt Fitzpatrick all impressed in Rome and will surely be at the forefront of Donald's plans when he announces his six picks on September 1.

So Rasmus replacing his twin brother Nicolai could be the only change in Europe's line-up when they defend the Ryder Cup and bid for a first win on US soil since the Miracle at Medinah in 2012.

And after Donald fired a one-under 71 in the opening round of the British Masters at the Belfry, he appeared keen to have as many of his winning Rome team as possible back on board for Bethpage.

"We had a great group of guys in Rome," Donald said. "We gelled really well together and had some great partnerships in there. 

"Yeah, again, there's a lot of those guys playing really well, which is great, but there's a few other guys trying to make their way into the team as well.

"So I'm keeping my eye on everything this week, next week. There's still lots to play for. There's good chance there's a lot of continuity from Rome which is only a positive, I think."

Hojgaard made an excellent start in his quest to steal the final automatic place from Lowry, firing a "solid" three-under 69, but the Dane admitted it is tough to avoid being distracted by talk of his Ryder Cup prospects.

"I get reminded of it every day at the moment," he said.  "You can't just forget about it. I try to focus on what can I do to try and put myself in position to have a chance of winning this golf tournament.

"That's taking it hole-by-hole and do my best. If it happens, it would be great, but I don't try and put too much energy into it."

Donald has also warned the aforementioned MacIntyre his recent antics on the PGA Tour - where he responded to a heckler - may not be the best course of action at Bethpage. 

The former World No.1 wants a 'less is more' approach.