Luke Donald says it is a great honour to host the British Masters and the former world number one insists it is extra special to be taking place so close to where he grew up.

The Hemel Hempstead-born golfer now lives in America, with most of his schedule taken up on the PGA Tour, but will return to his roots this week for the European Tour event at The Grove.

Donald said: "It's a great honour. Obviously it's the first time I've ever hosted an event. I think it's great for the European Tour and the game of golf. This is a really prominent event.

"Back in the day it attracted some of the biggest European stars when it was really popular. It was nice to see it resurrected last year with Ian Poulter being the host and it's my turn this year. It's a big honour and obviously being pretty close to where I grew up makes it extra special."

Donald still believes he can compete at the highest level and after finishing inside the top ten at The Grove ten years ago, in the World Golf Championship, is optimistic he can challenge for the trophy.

The 38-year-old said: "Obviously I would love to play well and I'll be gearing up to try and have a great week. I'd love dearly to present that trophy to myself. It would mean a lot and I'm going to try and enjoy the whole experience and take it all in.

"I played well in the event last year, obviously at a different course at Woburn. My game's tracking in the right direction. I'm going to be enjoying a couple of weeks off before it to recharge after a very long season and I'll be ready to go by mid-October and looking forward to it."

Reflecting on his performance last time at The Grove, Donald said: "I think I finished in the top ten and had a solid week. I walked away from that event feeling like I had a good tournament. It was a course that suited my game reasonably well.

"Tiger Woods dominated the week and won by quite a few shots but I had a solid week and I remember thinking I really enjoyed the course.

"It has a lot of variety and a few holes up on the hill and a few in the valley. I think aesthetically it's a very good looking golf course and plays very well."

The world-class field took advantage of ideal scoring conditions ten years ago with Woods storming to an eight-shot victory on 23-under-par.

Donald said: "It has past track experience of hosting a World Golf Championship back in 2006 when Tiger was the eventual winner and I think it showed up very well. It's a great facility with a world class hotel attached to it.

"I think the course has a lot of variety in it and I think the players will really enjoy it. I'm sure it will be presented in great condition so I expect the week to be a success."

Donald believes the 7,121-yard par 71 will again offer plenty of birdies for the players this time around, assuming the unpredictable British weather holds up.

"Scoring was quite low last time," he said. "I don't think the course has changed significantly since then. I played a few holes in May when I was doing some of the promotion [for the tournament] and from what I remember it's pretty similar.

"They might have added a little bit of length here and there but for the most part it's dependent on the weather conditions where we could have some adverse weather at that time of year in England.

"That will determine what the scoring's like but if it's good weather conditions I think the players can make some birdies which I think they enjoy."

Poulter hosted the British Masters 12 months ago at Woburn with big crowds flocking to the tournament. This event is only the second of the year in England following on from the PGA Championship at Wentworth and Donald believes it is important to showcase their sport in front of the passionate home fans.

The seven-time European Tour winner said: "I think the impetus for trying to get the British Masters back on UK soil was it always attracts great attendances and fans.

"A lot of people come and watch and there are a lot of needs for tournaments in the UK because they are very well attended. Last year was no exception. There were great crowds and a great venue in Woburn. Ian did a great job in hosting and it was a big success all round."

Donald is delighted to be one of a small group of players hosting the British Masters and believes there is a need for more tournaments to take place in England.

He said: "I think it is important and that's why a group of predominantly UK players, who've had success over the last ten years on the European Tour, lobbied really hard for this and the European Tour were really gracious in listening and putting this tournament back on the schedule.

“There is a need because before this came back we really only had one event in the England, especially when the Open Championship was in Scotland. It doesn't come to England often so there was a definite need for it.”

Donald added: "When we play at Wentworth the crowds are tremendous and amazing. They love their golf here and I think they were all looking for another reason to go out and cheer on and see some of their favourite golfers.

“It got off to a great start last year with it being well attended and enjoyed so hopefully that trend will continue with this event. It's hopefully here to stay for a long time.”