Hero Cup Debrief

Continental Europe defeated Great Britain and Ireland 14 ½ – 10 ½ to win the inaugural Hero Cup after collecting six points during the final session at Abu Dhabi Golf Club.

Francesco Molinari’s Continental team started the final day with a two-point lead so knew they needed only four and half points to win the first edition of the new match play event and they made the perfect start.

Captain Molinari set the tone with a 3&2 victory over Irishman Shane Lowry in the opening match of the day, but Great Britain and Ireland bounced straight back with wins in matches three and four, with their captain Tommy Fleetwood beating Thomas Pieters a birdie at the 13th but the point ultimately went to the Continental Europe team, as a Højgaard birdie at the 16th was enough for a 1up victory.

Matt Wallace’s 2&1 victory over Thomas Detry kept the Great Britain and Ireland hopes alive, but Victor Perez completed a 4&2 win against Jordan Smith while Ewen Ferguson went down 5&4 to Sepp Straka to put Continental Europe within half a point of securing the trophy.

That meant it all came down to Dubai resident Adrian Meronk. The two-time DP World Tour winner had lost all three of his matches across the first two days, but he made it count when it mattered as he holed a 25-foot birdie putt on the last to secure both a 1up triumph over Callum Shinkwin and the Hero Cup for Continental Europe.

Here, we look at the key stats and facts from the inaugural event.

Legends Inspire

late replacement for his injured twin brother, Guido Migliozzi and Francesco Molinari completed the quartet of players without a loss to their name over the three days at Abu Dhabi Golf Club. With Luke Donald keeping a watchful eye over events, the four only strengthened their chances of making his team for the bienneial showpiece in Rome in Septemebr.

Postigo Arce Wins First G4d Tour Title

Juan Postigo Arce claimed his maiden G4D Tour title in the second event of the 2023 season, the G4D Tour @ Hero Cup. The Spaniard, who was born without much of his right leg and no knee, held the overnight lead and

3&2, before England’s Tyrrell Hatton defeated Frenchman Antoine Rozner 5&4.

Then came what proved to be the pivotal matches with a stretch of tightly-contested pairings. Séamus Power and Denmark’s Nicolai Højgaard went toe-to-toe with the Irishman going 2up through three holes, before the Dane reeled off a trio of birdies approaching the turn. Power got back on level terms with

Ryder Cup legends José María Olazábal and Paul McGinely helped inspire the next generation of European talent after Captain Luke Donald called on the stars to share their fondest memories from their Ryder Cup days. “Luke called Paul and I and asked us to come down here,” said Olazábal. “I believe he wanted to create a Ryder Cup-like spirit and for us to let the players know how important the event was, and to share a few stories here and there.”

Undefeated

An unbeaten record at the Hero Cup proved the catalyst for Victor Perez to become the first Frenchman to secure a Rolex Series title the following week at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship. Nicolai Højgaard, who was a carded a level-par 72 in Saturday’s final round to finish two strokes ahead of Canadian Kurtis Barkley. After registering a runner-up and two third place finishes in the inaugural G4D Tour season, Postigo Arce was delighted to finally enjoy victory as the G4D Tour made its debut visit to Abu Dhabi Golf Club. “It feels great,” he said. “After last year, I played pretty good golf around the globe, but the win didn’t come. It’s the best way to start 2023 and hopefully there’s many more to come.”

Having entered the final round of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship one stroke behind the leaders, Victor Perez produced a dramatic finish to overcome a high-class chasing pack and win his maiden Rolex Series title at Yas Links Abu Dhabi.

The Frenchman held a narrow one-shot lead in the closing stages on Sunday afternoon before wild scenes erupted on the 17th as the 30-year-old’s sublime bunker shot found the bottom of the cup.

And even though he ran into trouble at the 18th, a bogey there was enough to secure a one-shot win as he closed with a 66 to finish the tournament on 18 under par, with Australian Min Woo Lee and Sweden’s Sebastian Söderberg sharing second place on 17 under par.

Here, we look at some of the stats and facts from the first Rolex Series event of the season.

Albatross spotted

Paul Waring achieved a very rare feat on day two, holing his second shot at the par-five 11th from 202 yards with a six iron for an albatross.