The Team Cup is, you guessed it, a team event on the DP World Tour. It took place for the first time in 2023 (named Hero Cup due to sponsors) after Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald encouraged the return of a team match play contest for would-be Ryder Cup players.
There are two teams of 10, with Great Britain and Ireland taking on Continental Europe. Both have playing captains in Justin Rose and Francesco Molinari. Rose replaces Tommy Fleetwood, captain two years ago but now taking part only as a player.
The inaugural edition was won 14.5-10.5 by Europe.
A three-day event, the Hero Cup is scheduled to take place from Friday January 10 to Sunday January 12. It is live on Sky Sports Golf in the UK.
Abu Dhabi Golf Resort (formerly Club) is the host venue. The course staged the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship from its inception in 2006 through to 2021, before that event moved to nearby Yas Links ahead of the 2022 edition. It also staged LIV Promotions in 2023.
Abu Dhabi GC is a relatively long, modern, desert-style par 72 which ends with a par-five played over water. With Shane Lowry now absent, Fleetwood and Tyrrell Hatton are the only course winners taking part.
A total of 25 points are on offer meaning 13 are required to win the event, or 12.5 for Europe to retain. Every player will take part in each session.
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
Francesco Molinari (Captain)
Joint top-scorer in 2023 when forming a winning partnership with Nicolai Hojgaard and then taking down Shane Lowry in the singles. Both top-10s since then have come first time up in January in the Middle East so might be best caught fresh, and there were some better signs towards the end of last year. Very strong course record too so is tempting as the rank outsider, although seems unlikely to reprise partnership with Nicolai.
Nicolai Hojgaard
Really impressed on debut when a late replacement for his brother, Rasmus, partnering with Molinari (2.5pts) and then producing six birdies and an eagle over the final 12 holes of a narrow singles win. Didn’t kick on as anticipated last year but was back driving the ball to his expected standards by the end of it, the result some of his best golf since he almost won on the PGA Tour in January. Key man.
Rasmus Hojgaard
For now it seems like the Hojgaard twins take it in turns somewhat and after Nicolai’s Ryder Cup debut and DP World Tour Championship win, it was Rasmus who took the next steps in his career in 2024, winning the Irish Open and earning PGA Tour membership. Ruled out of this two years ago when injured so will be making his course debut, likely alongside his brother.
Romain Langasque
Rewarded for the best season of his career (in all measures bar trophies won) with the final place on the European side, with second place in the Nedbank essentially doing the job. That was his third runner-up finish of the season and the Frenchman, who has a base in the Middle East, looks the sort of character to thrive in this environment.
Matteo Manassero
Fifteen years ago we’d all have expected Manassero to have represented Europe in a Ryder Cup by now, but as it is he’s back in blue almost 12 years on from his last Seve Trophy appearance. Singles record in events like this is good (2-1-0, loss coming by one hole to a certain Ian Poulter) and has been sixth at this golf course in the past. Driver is a worry.
Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen
Young Dane who earned battlefield promotion to the DP World Tour with three Challenge Tour wins last year. Should’ve made it four when returning for the Grand Final but that minor blip can’t distract from the promise he’s shown, which extended to finishes of eighth and 39th in Australia. All happening very quickly but one of five Danes and could perhaps pair with one of the other two who aren’t named Hojgaard.
Niklas Norgaard
Powerhouse whose putter became a real strength after the mid-summer break last year, the result a first win at the Belfry plus several more excellent performances all the way to Dubai. Drives it miles and generally where he’s aiming and only weakness is his chipping, which almost cost him that British Masters title. Will love this course and perhaps his downturn in November and December reflected an emptying tank.
Thorbjorn Olesen
Firmly reestablished as one of the best in Europe now and has his PGA Tour card again next year thanks to a strong end to the DP World Tour season, with four top-10s in five. When he’s driving it well he’s a formidable player as his irons have always been good and his short-game can be better than that, while he has both a good course record and Ryder Cup experience.
Matthieu Pavon
Surprise coaching switch at the end of 2024 leaves him with questions to answer as a dizzying run came to a halt. That stretch of golf included his first wins on both the DP World and PGA Tour plus contending for the US Open, but now the challenge is to hit those heights again. We’ll see but not much encouragement to be drawn from comeback in Hawaii.
Antoine Rozner
Gutsy birdie on the 72nd hole of the DP World Tour Championship earned him a PGA Tour card and could do well out there, as he’s such a fine ball-striker. Good to see that his driving malaise appears over and while he’ll never be a reliable putter, the odd good week is all he needs to be very competitive. One of the most impressive performers for Europe in this event two years ago.
Justin Rose (Captain)
Auditioning for Ryder Cup captaincy, or rather practicing as there’s no doubt he’ll get that job at some stage in the near future. For now harbours ambitions of making the side for one last hurrah in the US, but will need to do better than he has for the last few months. That’s largely been a putter problem though and second place in the Open a timely reminder of his class. Match play credentials are exceptional and has been runner-up at this course.
Laurie Canter
Won the European Open last summer to complete a slow and steady climb which really began in earnest during the pandemic summer of 2020. Big, strong driver who would look an ideal fit for this course and while he missed the cut here on his sole DP World Tour start, don’t forget he was in the mix at LIV Promotions. Funny how things work out: had he seen that through, he probably wouldn’t be a DP World Tour winner and almost certainly wouldn’t be here.
Tommy Fleetwood
Played well two years ago, as you’d expect given class and two course wins, plus second in 2020 and seventh a year later. Has since gone on to effectively wrap up the Ryder Cup for Europe in Rome and sure to be a key part of plans for this year’s renewal. His impressive first-time-up record was enhanced again by winning the Dubai Invitational this time last year.
Tyrrell Hatton
Like Fleetwood, a course winner who played some decent stuff in this two years ago, then went unbeaten in the Ryder Cup before joining teammate Jon Rahm on the LIV Golf circuit. Found his feet there pretty quickly and went 18-10-1-2-6 when returning to the DP World Tour, so every chance he’s hard to beat for GB&I having played deep into 2024 (5th in Saudi International last time out).
Matthew Jordan
Like Langasque, rewarded for a strong end to the year which culminated in second place in the Nedbank Challenge, where he’ll know he had his best chance yet to win a maiden DP World Tour title. Feel sure it’ll come soon enough for a rounded player whose approach work has taken the necessary steps forward. Drives it well so course should suit but it has been a long time since he’s played golf in this format.
Tom McKibbin
Fabulous finish to the DP World Tour Championship saw him earn a PGA Tour card and McIlroy’s heir apparent can go on to achieve great things granted a bit of luck. For now an encouraging record in the Middle East and some of the best driving stats in this field make him a dangerous player, one who I could see pairing up with the captain.
Aaron Rai
Solid ball-striker known for his meticulous nature and has steadily climbed the ranks, winning his first PGA Tour title in impressive fashion in August before having a run at the BMW PGA Championship title. Flies in from Hawaii for this and that would be a nagging concern, as it is for Pavon on the other side, although Rai did at least show more promise there.
Jordan Smith
Another rock-solid tee-to-green player and I found it interesting that he was paired with the better players two years ago, perhaps an indication that Luke Donald felt he could make his side in Rome. Has stalled a bit since but if the data is reliable, note that he gained strokes putting on his final 11 starts of 2024. If that continues, big things will happen for a player who only narrowly missed a PGA Tour card.
Matt Wallace
Nobody here will be taking things more seriously than a player who felt he should’ve been on the 2018 Ryder Cup side and will see this as his best chance since, perhaps the best he’ll ever get. Reason for that is he’s been in flying form since September, winning in Switzerland and nearly doing so again here in Abu Dhabi, while the fact he has a top-three finish at Ryder Cup host course, Bethpage Black, has to help. Played well in 2023 edition, taking 2.5 points and winning his singles match. Expect similar.
Paul Waring
Fairy-tale ending to the 2024 season after fending them all off here in Abu Dhabi (different course) to earn his second DP World Tour title, and a PGA Tour card. Bound to have some fun trying things over in the US and no reason this proven desert performer can’t make an early impression having suddenly announced himself as a potential Ryder Cup candidate. Sixth at this course in 2019.
Europe won this as marginal underdogs two years ago and are a bigger price to defend. That’s understandable given the absence of Sepp Straka, Thomas Pieters, Adrian Meronk, Victor Perez, Thomas Detry and Alex Noren, who back then would’ve looked their best six players on paper, but it would be foolish to underestimate this Denmark-heavy side nevertheless.
That being said, Great Britain and Ireland are plainly the better side on paper. They’re missing Shane Lowry, Robert MacIntyre and Seamus Power, but Laurie Canter, Tom McKibbin and Aaron Rai are strong replacements. And whereas the Hojgaard twins look the standout players for Europe along with Thorbjorn Olesen, for Great Britain and Ireland it’s the world-class Tyrrell Hatton and Tommy Fleetwood.
With those two the only course winners, and Dubai-based Fleetwood now free from the distraction of captaincy, odds of 4/7 are fair enough. They’re strong favourites and I suspect they’ll win with a little in hand.
In 2023, I thought the market initially failed to reflect the fact that everyone is on an equal footing. Unlike the other big team events, there’s no benching weaker players, with everyone taking part in four matches. That not only compresses things, but makes dead-heats for places almost guaranteed, and it may be that to win the top scorer markets you need to go 4-0-0.
However, there’s one lesson to take from that renewal, and it’s the influence of Luke Donald. Based on the comments of then-captain Fleetwood and opposite number Molinari, it seems safe to assume Donald had a hand in selecting pairings. And, based on those pairings, it’s clear he was keen to trial a couple of potential Ryder Cup options.
I thought it was particularly telling that TOMMY FLEETWOOD, Shane Lowry and Tyrrell Hatton all paired up at various points, the only three players on the GBI team who were guaranteed to be taking part in Rome. This makes sense, too: if you only have a few definite Ryder Cup players, why not pair them and at least see if something might come of it?
With that and the expected win for the favourites in mind, I’ll take Fleetwood at a generally slightly bigger price than Hatton, though backing both is a good option too. I expect they’ll play together and if that’s the case, they will be very hard to beat.
Now, the one caveat is that Europe will probably do something similar, even though there are no players on Molinari’s team who are guaranteed to be at Bethpage. The two most likely are probably the Hojgaard twins and, while Molinari may want to reprise his partnership with Nicolai, it seems more likely the brothers play together.
I expect in that scenario they’d be tested against Hatton and Fleetwood, at least once, and this sense of manufactured pairings and matches must be considered. I’m of the view that players and captains will treat this seriously, but there’s no doubt there’s a greater purpose than the outcome and that’s to learn at least something that could come in handy for a daunting trip to New York.
This sense that fire meets fire leads me to wonder whether we can benefit by backing one or both of Fleetwood and Hatton, along with a couple of the lesser-known Europeans to be their team’s top scorer, those who could avoid the strongest opposition players.
Among them, I’m draw to ROMAIN LANGASQUE and the captain, FRANCESCO MOLINARI.
Molinari has played plenty of bad golf over the past three or four years, but all of his best golf has come during the first weeks of the campaign. That includes in this event, when he was a commanding winner against Lowry, and he was striking his ball well when last seen. I’m not sure he should be adrift at the bottom of the market and, in the circumstances, have to include a small top overall bet, too.
Langasque meanwhile is in excellent form and he’ll be primed for this. No doubt, he feels strongly that he’s capable of playing Ryder Cup golf and, based in the Middle East, he’ll be raring to go. Not that anyone will be dossing, but him and Matt Wallace appeal as the two most likely to be treating this like it is the actual Ryder Cup.
But whereas Wallace has to outscore Fleetwood and Hatton, Langasque’s form in 2024 isn’t far off the best in his side and he might just face easier draws. I’ll be glad if he’s paired with Antoine Rozner, too, given that he was so good here in 2023. Indeed Rozner was somewhat appealing but at three points bigger, a potential partner, whose game is thriving, gets the vote.
Correct score punters can get something like 4/1 about the favourites winning 14-11 or 14.5-10.5, which feels like the right sort of area.
5pts Tommy Fleetwood top overall points scorer at 8/1 (BoyleSports)
1.5pts Romain Langasque top European points scorer at 10/1 (General)
1pt Francesco Molinari top European points scorer at 22/1 (bet365)
0.5pt Francesco Molinari top overall points scorer at 40/1 (General
1pt GB&I to beat Europe 14-11 at 9/1 (General)
1pt GB&I to beat Europe 14.5-10.5 at 9/1 (General)
Posted at 1100 GMT on 07/01/25
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