By Mathieu Wood
For those players making the switch back to individual golf at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic, experiencing the dynamics of team golf at last week’s Team Cup may have been fleeting but the impact for their careers is likely to be lasting.
Of the 20 players who competed in the three-day Ryder Cup-style match play contest, 14 have made the short trip to Emirates Golf Club for the first Rolex Series event of 2025.
Held for the second time in Abu Dhabi, the Team Cup – won 17-8 by Great Britain & Ireland against Continental Europe – was an important exercise in European Captain Luke Donald’s preparations for the Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black in September.
From the camaraderie between players to dealing with the pressures of team golf, Donald was intent on ensuring the Team Cup would offer key learnings that could prove influential in the make-up of his eventual Ryder Cup team later this year.
With the New York crowd expected to be a big part of the challenge of trying to retain the Ryder Cup, Donald made pressure the theme of the week in Abu Dhabi.
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And as part of that, Norwegian psychologist Geir Jordet was brought in to address both the GB&I and Continental Europe teams about some of the tactics he has learned from studying football.
Some of those were put to the test as several distractions were put in front of players during their final practice session on Thursday, which many of the players later described as one of the most fiercely contested they could remember.
“It was a very interesting talk from Jordet,” said Romain Langasque, who won three points from his four matches as he forged a 100% winning record alongside countryman Matthieu Pavon.
“Team golf is very emotionally demanding. I am sure it will be help make me better returning to week-to-week individual golf."
For Langasque, the Team Cup represented a first return to team match play since he competed at the World Cup of Golf in his first full rookie year as a professional in 2016, having formed part of France’s winning European Boys’ Team Championship side in 2013.
“There was a sense that came to me during the week that I was learning from the best,” added the World Number 76.
“Being alongside Justin, Francesco and Luke helped with that. José María Olazábal was there as well, it was very inspiring.
“Just speaking to them, they had so much time for us, sharing stories and experiences, so it was amazing.”
While experienced Ryder Cup players Justin Rose, Francesco Molinari, Tyrrell Hatton and Tommy Fleetwood, who sealed the winning point for Great Britain & Ireland over Continental Europe in Sunday’s singles, were all on show, there were 13 players experiencing the event for the first time.
Alongside Langasque, Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen was another as he was selected for Continental Europe following a remarkable rise in the paid ranks since turning professional in June 2023.
With three titles on the European Challenge Tour, he earned automatic promotion to the DP World Tour before going on to improve his membership category with some good results towards the end of the Race to Dubai campaign.
While he was unable to contribute to Continental Europe’s cause as he teamed up with fellow Dane Rasmus Højgaard, the experience is one the 25-year-old will never forget.
“At the start of the week, the wall between the team rooms was down so it was combined but when the wall went up it quickly felt competitive,” he said.
“I loved every minute of it. It’s a week I will remember for the rest of my life, even though it did not go the way we wanted. Just the bonds that we had that week were quite special.”
Part of what made the week truly special was the involvement of current and past Ryder Cup Captains and Vice Captains in the backroom teams, including Olazábal.
“There was a lot of wisdom,” added Neergaard-Petersen, who is making his Rolex Series debut this week.
“I could listen to Jose Maria tell stories until Christmas, it was awesome. I had a chat with Paul McGinley and one of the things he said to me was one of the players he felt really got it right in their career was Monty (Colin Montgomerie).
“He didn’t try and reinvent himself, he kept getting better and better at what he was good at.
“[McGinley] told me that I was plenty good and to get better at what I am good at and that is something I am going to bring with me going forward - don’t try and be something you are not.”
Watching from afar was two-time Ryder Cup winner Jon Rahm, who like Neergaard-Petersen will play the Majlis Course competitively for the first time this week.
The Spaniard recognises the value of the Team Cup, formerly known as the Hero Cup for its inaugural edition in 2023, and he admitted to feeling like "a fish out of water" without such an event ahead of his Ryder Cup debut at Le Golf National in 2018.
“I'm just glad that a lot of these younger players that maybe haven't had a chance to play Ryder Cup yet get to experience a little bit of what the Ryder Cup would be like,” the two-time Major champion explained.
“From what I hear they did an incredible job off the golf course of giving them the experience of that team feeling as close as you can to the Ryder Cup.
“Obviously it's not the same thing but seeing what the locker room would look like and many other things, and the atmosphere in the week in general is very, very beneficial.
“I wish I would have had that because when I went to Paris [for the 2018 Ryder Cup], I was a fish out of water.
“I was very out of my comfort zone, and I think it showed a little bit on the golf course as well.”
So, after half of the 12-man team who won the Ryder Cup at Marco Simone Golf & Country Club in 2023 featured at the inaugural Team Cup, it remains to be seen how many go on to do likewise this time around.
Those who do will unquestionably be better players after being among a collective ethos both inside and outside the ropes.