In a brand-new team tournament this week in Abu Dhabi, the best golfers on the DP World Tour from Continental Europe, Great Britain, Ireland, and other European countries will compete.
What exactly is a Hero Cup?
The Hero Cup is a team competition in which teams consist of 10 DP World Tour members from Continental Europe and 10 British and Irish players. Luke Donald, captain of Team Europe in the Ryder Cup, has chosen each participant.
The purpose of the tournament was to give players more experience participating in Ryder Cup-style competitions as captains and players.
After being appointed following Henrik Stenson’s defection to LIV Golf, former world No. 1 Donald will lead Europe’s attempt to regain the Ryder Cup at the Marco Simone Golf and Country Club later this year. Throughout the three days of the Hero Cup, he will also collaborate closely with both teams.
Donald stated at the Hero Cup’s launch, “One of the first things I was keen to do when I was appointed as Ryder Cup captain was to reinstate a team match play contest to give future Ryder Cup players, vice-captains, and captains experience playing and leading.”
When I talked to a few of the former captains of the Ryder Cup, they were ardent advocates of the ways in which similar events in the past have benefited players who were working hard to make Ryder Cup teams and their own captaincy journeys.
In some ways, the competition is a revival of the Seve Trophy, which was played eight times in years other than the Ryder Cup from 2000 to 2013. Ireland and Great Britain won six of those.
Who is competing?
Donald has chosen Tommy Fleetwood, who has won six tournaments on the DP World Tour, and Francesco Molinari, who won the 2018 Open Championship, to serve as the playing captains of the Continental Europe and Great Britain and Ireland teams, respectively.
The other players competing in the Hero Cup have also been selected by Donald. Former BMW PGA Championship winner Tyrrell Hatton and 2019 Open champion Shane Lowry will represent Great Britain and Ireland.
In contrast, Thomas Pieters, who holds the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship right now, and Alex Noren, who won the PGA Championship in 2017, make up the Continental Europe team. Rasmus Hojgaard, a 21-year-old Dane, had been scheduled to appear as well. Instead, his twin brother Nicolai will take his place.
Donald stated, “The Hero Cup will provide me with a fantastic opportunity to see how these players adapt and react in a team environment.” “We have a fantastic mix of major champions and Ryder Cup players, alongside those who are hoping to secure their debut for Team Europe in Rome next September.”
What format is it in?
The Hero Cup, like the Ryder Cup, is a three-day match play team event that features fourballs, foursomes, and singles. Throughout the course of the tournament, all twenty players will compete.
The pairings will be announced on January 12, and five matches will be played in the fourballs on Friday to kick off the tournament.
On Saturday, the foursomes begin, with five matches starting in the morning and five more starting in the afternoon.
On Sunday, the event concludes with ten singles matches.
How can this support Team Europe’s preparations for the Ryder Cup?
After a crushing 19-9 defeat to Team USA at Whistling Straits two years ago, Europe did a lot of soul-searching. Donald, the captain of 2023, is eager to make sure that players on the DP World Tour get experience playing and captaining in these team format events.
Fleetwood, the playing captain of Great Britain and Ireland, who was a part of Team Europe’s success in France in 2018 and played again two years later, has no doubt that the previous team tournaments he has played in have helped him compete in the Ryder Cup.
Fleetwood stated, “I think back on other team events I’ve played and how important they were to me, my teammates, the captains, and everyone else involved.”
“There is a long way to go before that and you can only go one week at a time,” says “The Ryder Cup is a huge motivator for every player in Europe that has a chance to play in September.” However, there is a long way to go before that.
Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm, who mostly play on the PGA Tour, lead the European Points table that determines who automatically qualifies for the Ryder Cup team. Fleetwood and Lowry, who currently sit in fourth and third, are also in the running.
From the European Points list, three players will be eligible for automatic selection, and from the World Points list, three more players will be eligible.
Fleetwood stated, “I think back on other team events I’ve played and how important they were to me, my teammates, the captains, and everyone else involved.”
“There is a long way to go before that and you can only go one week at a time,” says “The Ryder Cup is a huge motivator for every player in Europe that has a chance to play in September.” However, there is a long way to go before that.
Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm, who mostly play on the PGA Tour, lead the European Points table that determines who automatically qualifies for the Ryder Cup team. Fleetwood and Lowry, who currently sit in fourth and third, are also in the running.
From the European Points list, three players will be eligible for automatic selection, and from the World Points list, three more players will be eligible.
