Luke Donald is eager to see how would-be Ryder Cup players fare under the pressures of team golf as the Team Cup returns in Abu Dhabi.
The European Ryder Cup Captain is overseeing proceedings this week as two teams of ten DP Word Tour members contest the three-day match play contest.
At the inaugural edition in 2023, a Continental Europe side led by Francesco Molinari beat a Tommy Fleetwood-led Great Britain & Ireland 14½-10½ at Abu Dhabi Golf Resort.
Six of the players who competed two years ago went on to feature in Donald’s winning side at the Ryder Cup in Italy, with four of those Captain’s Picks.
And with dual DP World Tour and PGA TOUR winners Matthieu Pavon and Aaron Rai among 13 players making their debut in the Team Cup this week, Donald is viewing the competition as a big part of his preparations for September’s Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black.
"You've got two great teams, two quality standard teams," he said.
"You have rookies that are hungry to try and make a mark, and you have two guys that have a lot of experience.
"It's great for me to oversee it and see how these players perform under match play team competition and under that kind of pressure."
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Despite only being a late call-up for his injured twin brother, Nicolai Højgaard was arguably the star of the Team Cup two years ago as he was one of four players to go unbeaten from their four matches.
The Dane went on to be picked by Donald later that year, and the former World Number One is excited by the chance those in action have to impress.
"You see how people cope under that and you see how they react," he added of his key learnings from the first edition of the Team Cup.
"Certain people did better than others, and Nicolai was an example. Came in in a tough situation, replaced his brother, and probably performed the best out of everyone that week.
"Again, forward eight months later when I was making my picks, that was something that I took into consideration.
"So these are all things that we'll see, we'll look at, and again, it's an important week for the build-up to New York."
Continental Europe will again be skippered by Molinari, with fellow Major champion Justin Rose taking over playing captaincy duties from Fleetwood for the first time.
Donald, who has his Ryder Cup Vice Captains Edoardo Molinari and Thomas Bjørn along with Paul McGinley and Nicolas Colsaerts with him this week, is thrilled to have the support of the two experienced figures in European golf.
"I'm kind of sitting in an overview," he said. "It's great to have Justin and Fran here, getting a little experience for the other side of it, and an eye to still wanting to play great for me.
"It's sitting back and watching the players and see how they interact as a team and see how they perform under that sort of pressure.
"Yeah, it's a good learning week for me and the Vice Captains."
