A Hero’s Welcome

The UAE Swing opens with a different spin in the shape of the matchplay Hero Cup in Abu Dhabi

By Matt Smith

There is still some way to go before Team Europe take on the might of the United States at Marco Simone GC in Rome, Italy, for the 44th Ryder Cup in September, but with Zach Johnson’s men getting some vital team experience under their belt at the recent Presidents Cup, Luke Donald made the decision to get his European hopefuls together for a showdown in Abu Dhabi.

Opening the 2023 UAE Swing will be the Hero Cup from January 13-15 at Abu Dhabi Golf Club, the famous National Course welcoming back professional golf after the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship moved to Yas Links in 2022.

The inaugural event is essentially a resurrection of the old Seve Cup that ran from 2000 to 2013 — pitting 10 Great Britain & Ireland players against some of the best Continental Europe has to offer — and the 20-man field has been named.

Tommy Fleetwood will be the playing captain for GB&I, and he will be up against his old pal Francesco Molinari, who will skipper the Europeans for the three-day matchplay event.

Foursomes, four-balls and singles will be played over the three days, and all 20 players will take part each day.

While the likes of Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, Viktor Hovland and US Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick will be absent, star names from Europe’s “core group” of Fleetwood, Tyrrell Hatton and Shane Lowry will be competing.

For Europe, Molinari will be joined by two Belgians in Thomas Detry and 2022 Abu Dhabi HSBC champion Thomas Pieters, Austria’s Sepp Straka, Italy’s Guido Migliozzi, Adrian Meronk of Poland, Rasmus Hojgaard from Denmark, France’s Victor Perez and Antoine Rozner, and Alex Noren from Sweden.

For GB&I, Fleetwood has five fellow Englishmen in the line-up — Hatton, Matt Wallace, Callum Shinkwin, Richard Mansell and Jordan Smith — two Scots in Robert MacIntyre and Ewen Ferguson, and Ireland’s Lowry and Seamus Power.

Donald had a hand in the selection of both teams, keen to take a look at ‘fringe’ players to see how they handle the team environment. “Having worked closely with Tommy and Fran on building the two teams, I’m delighted with the mix of players who will be on show,” he said. “We all thought it was important to combine experience and youthfulness, and I think we have found that balance with a mixture of major champions and Ryder Cup players, alongside guys who are hoping to secure a spot in Rome next year.”

Fleetwood and Molinari famously combined for four points from their four matches together during Europe’s 17.5-10.5 win at the 2018 Ryder Cup at Le National in Paris, to create the ‘Moliwood’ bromance. Now on opposite sides of the fence, both are eyeing the win, but keeping the main objective in focus: to help Donald’s selection process for Rome in September. He has six picks to go along with the six automatic qualifiers for Team Europe.

“Our team is packed full of exciting players who all have the attributes to excel in a matchplay contest,” Molinari said. “Some of our younger players have already shown incredible maturity in high-pressure situations and proved they can perform in big moments, so giving them the opportunity to compete on this stage alongside the likes of Alex Noren and Thomas Pieters will be really important at the beginning of what could be a big year for them.”

Fleetwood added: “Having the experience of Shane and Tyrrell will be invaluable for the rest of the team but I think we are really strong throughout.”

With the ranking averages for the two teams only slightly favouring Team GB&I, the Ryder Cup warm-up is in the balance as to who will emerge as the Heroes.

2023 HERO CUP TEAMS

Continental Europe

Francesco Molinari (C) Thomas Detry Rasmus Højgaard Adrian Meronk Guido Migliozzi Alex Noren Victor Perez Thomas Pieters Sepp Straka Antoine Rozner

Great Britain & Ireland

Tommy Fleetwood (C) Ewen Ferguson Tyrrell Hatton Shane Lowry Robert MacIntyre Seamus Power Callum Shinkwin Jordan Smith Matt Wallace Richard Mansell

(C) – Playing Captain

old pals’ act

Ryder Cup stars from 2019, Tommy Fleetwood and Francesco Molinari will be on opposite sides at the Hero Cup