"It's such an honour, a golden opportunity for a once in a lifetime experience," the nervous-looking 36-year-old said on the first tee surrounded by an enormous grandstand. "Thanks to all the fans for coming and putting a bit of extra pressure on us on the first tee. With hundreds of fans in the stands and many more lining the fairway, Djokovic initially walked out to address his ball with a tennis racket, before switching to a driver. Djokovic and England's Popert were up against Spain's F1 driver Carlos Sainz who recently won the Singapore Grand Prix and Italian G4D golfer Tommaso Perrino. Reporting by Martyn Herman, editing by Pritha SarkarOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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Persons: Ryder, Marco Simone Golf, Monty's Novak Djokovic, Phil Noble, Novak Djokovic, Kipp Popert, Colin Montgomerie's, Gareth Bale, England's Popert, Carlos Sainz, Tommaso Perrino, Martyn Herman, Pritha Sarkar Organizations: Country Club, Star, REUTERS, Rights, Rome, Ryder, Serbian, U.S, Spain's, Singapore, Prix, Thomson Locations: Rome, Italy, Italian