The return of the Team Cup in Abu Dhabi kickstarts a Ryder Cup year on the DP World Tour. Here are your five things to know.
Last time around
The Team Cup – formerly known as the Hero Cup – was first played in January 2023, with Continental Europe, led by Francesco Molinari, defeating a Great Britain & Ireland team skippered by Tommy Fleetwood 14½ -10½. Four of the Continental Europe side that week went unbeaten, including the returning Molinari and Nicolai Højgaard. As in 2023, the teams will compete in match play across one session of fourballs on the Friday, two sessions of foursomes on the Saturday and one session of singles on the Sunday, with every player in the two respective ten-man teams taking part in all four sessions. Each match will be worth one point, with the team getting to the 13 point mark winning the trophy. In the event of an overall points tie, the Team Cup will be decided by a foursome hole by hole playoff. Each Captain will choose the players to represent their team at the conclusion of play.
Meet the captains
A pair of Major champions will lead their respective teams this week, with 2018 Open Championship winner Molinari pitting his wits on and off the course against 2013 U.S. Open champion Justin Rose. With nine Ryder Cups between them as players, including as team-mates in 2018, they are among the most experienced European DP World Tour members. While Molinari held the role two years ago, Rose takes over playing captaincy duties from countryman Fleetwood. Molinari is best remembered for his history-making exploits in the Ryder Cup at Le Golf National in 2018, but it is perhaps easily forgotten that he has been on the winning side for all three of his appearances. Rose has appeared in six Ryder Cup teams, winning on four occasions, and continues to be a force at the top of the game into his mid-40s.
Meet the teams
Both sides each have representation from three Ryder Cup players, with Molinari joined by Danish duo Nicolai Højgaard and Thorbjørn Olesen, and Rose teeing it up alongside English counterparts Fleetwood and Tyrrell Hatton. Rasmus Højgaard, who was forced to withdraw from the 2023 Team Cup through injury, was one of the four automatic qualifiers for Molinari’s side, alongside fellow Scandinavians Niklas Nørgaard and Olesen, and Italian Matteo Manassero, with all four earning dual membership status for 2025 through their performances on the Race to Dubai last season. They are joined by 2023 Ryder Cup winner Nicolai Højgaard and 2024 Challenge Tour Number One Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen. Completing Molinari’s team are French trio Matthieu Pavon, who became the first Frenchman to win on the PGA TOUR in more than 100 years last year, fellow dual member Antoine Rozner and Romain Langasque. Fleetwood, Hatton and five-time DP World Tour winner Matt Wallace, who also competed in the 2023 edition of the event, automatically qualified for the Great Britain & Ireland side alongside Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship winner Paul Waring. Tom McKibbin and Laurie Canter, who have both won DP World Tour titles for the first time since the 2023 edition are in Rose’s side, as are two-time DP World Tour winner Jordan Smith, and Aaron Rai, who is the most recent English winner on the PGA TOUR after claiming the Wyndham Championship in August, and Matthew Jordan. Langasque and Jordan received the final picks for each side after runner-up finishes at last month’s Nedbank Golf Challenge. In total, 13 players are making their debuts in the competition.
The venue
Not only is the Team Cup returning to Abu Dhabi, but it is also back at the same venue. The National Course at Abu Dhabi Golf Resort hosted 16 editions of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship from 2006 to 2021. The 7,648-yard par 72 course features four par fives, ten par fours and four par threes, with water coming into play on more holes than not. Subtle tweaks to yardages on several holes mean the course is set to play six yards longer than in 2023. Fleetwood and Hatton have both won on the DP World Tour over the layout, while Waring won in the Emirati capital on the Rolex Series at the nearby Yas Links in November.
The bigger picture
As a warm-up event ahead of the Ryder Cup, which will be hosted at New York’s Bethpage Black in September, the Team Cup brings together a mix of established stars along with some of European golf’s emerging talents. Team Europe Ryder Cup Captain Luke Donald is presiding over proceedings in the United Arab Emirates as he did in 2023. Six players who competed at the inaugural Team Cup went on to play under Donald at the Ryder Cup in Italy, and many will have their sights on catching the eye of the Englishman this week. Five of the current six players who currently occupy an automatic Ryder Cup qualifying spot are in action, with reigning Race to Dubai champion Rory McIlroy the only exception. While there are no Race to Dubai Ranking points on offer, there is plenty of incentive to impress.
