Defending Trophée Hassan II champion Edoardo Molinari will be joined by nine further former Ryder Cup players as the European Tour returns to Royal Golf Dar Es Salam in Morocco from April 19-22.
Molinari, a member of Team Europe’s victorious 2010 Ryder Cup side, secured his first European Tour title in seven years when he defeated Ireland’s Paul Dunne in a play-off at last year’s Trophée Hassan II.
The Italian is joined by 2016 Ryder Cup rookies Andy Sullivan and Chris Wood, along with 2016 Masters Tournament champion Danny Willett in Morocco.
Former European Tour Number One Robert Karlsson, Paul Lawrie, winner of The Open in 1999 and a two-time Ryder Cup player, will tee it up alongside Nicolas Colsaerts, Jamie Donaldson, and Victor Dubuisson under the watchful eye of Team Europe’s 2018 Ryder Cup Captain Thomas Bjørn, winner of The Ryder Cup in 1997, 2002 and 2014.
The Ryder Cup contingent have 55 European Tour wins between them, with Bjørn amassing 15 titles since 1995.
As well as Molinari, all seven previous winners of the Trophée Hassan II return to Morocco in their bid to become the first two-time winner of this event since it joined the European Tour International Schedule in 2010.
“It’s always special having the opportunity to defend a title, and I can’t wait to return to Morocco to do so next month,” said Molinari. “The win last year was very important for my career, as I had struggled for a long time with injuries and bad form.
“I really had to earn it. Paul was playing some great golf and pushed me all the way on the final day and in the play-off.
“I’m looking forward to seeing how the golf course plays after the recent renovations, it will pose a new challenge for all of us.”
Rhys Davies was the inaugural winner in 2010, followed by David Horsey, Michael Hoey, Marcel Siem, Alejandro Cañizares, Richie Ramsay and Jeunghun Wang, before Molinari’s success in 2017.
With his victory in 2016, Wang became the youngest winner on the European Tour since 2012 - aged 20 years and 256 days - he then became the first player since Rory McIlroy in 2014 to win consecutive events on the European Tour, when he went on to win the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open the following week.
Also in the field are George Coetzee, Joost Luiten, Wade Ormsby, Eddie Pepperell, Matt Wallace – all winners on the European Tour in 2018.
