Chris Wood admits it is humbling to have the chance of joining three of the biggest names in European golf in completing a prestigious double this week.

Seve Ballesteros, Nick Faldo and Colin Montgomerie are the only players to have won the BMW PGA Championship and British Masters in the same season, a feat Wood can emulate at The Grove this week.

Wood, whose victory in the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth in May helped seal his place in the European Ryder Cup team, said: "That's quite a big thing for me to take in and that's extra motivation to try and win the tournament this week.

"That would be a hell of a thing to sort of have on your CV really, to be associated with those three players. It's quite something, that."

Wood won one of his two matches at Hazeltine a fortnight ago as Europe suffered a 17-11 defeat, their first in the biennial contest against the United States since 2008 and the heaviest for 35 years.

The 28-year-old from Bristol was one of six rookies on Darren Clarke's side and one of the others, compatriot Matt Fitzpatrick, is the defending champion at The Grove after claiming his first European Tour title at Woburn 12 months ago.

"It came a lot quicker than I anticipated," said Fitzpatrick, who was 21 when he secured a wire-to-wire win last year. "I remember speaking to Chubby (Chandler, his manager) after I had won and we were both saying it wasn't really on our radar to win and it just happened.

"It was nice to tick off a goal straight away. It was a special week. I can't believe it's a year to the day today. There's lots of doors opened and it's all happened so fast. It's almost a bit difficult to comprehend I guess."

Former world number one Luke Donald follows in the footsteps of Ian Poulter by acting as tournament host this week, the 38-year-old having grown up in nearby Hemel Hempstead.

Donald has not played competitively since failing to qualify for the season-ending Tour Championship and will also have to balance his hosting duties as he tries to win a first European Tour title since 2012.

"I've worked on my game for a couple of weeks now getting ready for this week, but I feel pretty refreshed and excited to get back to competition after a little break," Donald said. "Obviously I have more responsibility this week than I would have in a usual event, but it's a very manageable amount.

"I feel like during the FedEx play-offs I really saw some positive signs and I felt like there was a lot more consistency in my game. I also had a runner-up finish in Greensboro, which was good. But although my results were steady and a lot more consistent, they weren't quite as good as I'd like.

"But I feel like I'm certainly trending in the right direction."

Donald finished in a tie for sixth when The Grove hosted the WGC-American Express Championship in 2006, albeit a distant 12 shots behind runaway winner Tiger Woods.

Woods announced on Monday that he had pulled out of his planned comeback in this week's Safeway Open, the 14-time major winner having been sidelined since August last year with a serious back injury.

"I think we all want to see Tiger back," Donald added. "We want to see how he's going to play and how he's going to perform. Despite not having played much in the last year or so, he still moves the needle in golf. He's good for the game when he's playing.

"He'll come back when he feels he's ready. I'm not sure, when you take a break, if you're ever ready. He'll know when he's ready and hopefully that's sooner rather than later."