Between 10-12 January, the DP World Tour’s Team Cup between Great Britain and Ireland against Continental Europe will take place at the Abu Dhabi Golf Resort in what is billed as a Ryder Cup dress rehearsal as players from the region look to gain more experience in a Ryder-Cup style match-play event to help boost their chances of being selected for Team Europe in the prestigious global competition.
Launched as the Hero Cup in 2023, prior to Europe’s Ryder Cup Triumph of the Team USA in Italy, Continental Europe took home the trophy thanks to a 14.5-10.5 victory.
Justin Rose and Francesco Molinari will captain the two sides with Europe’s 2025 Ryder Cup captain, Luke Donald, closely monitoring the action in preparation for September. But who has made the rosters for this year’s competition?
Great Britain and Ireland
- Justin Rose (c) – England
- Laurie Canter – England
- Tommy Fleetwood – England
- Tyrrell Hatton – England
- Matthew Jordan – England
- Tom McKibbin – Northern Ireland
- Aaron Rai – England
- Jordan Smith – England
- Matt Wallace – England
- Paul Waring – England
Rose takes over from 2023 captain Tommy Fleetwood while Laurie Canter, Matthew Jordan, Tom McKibbin, Aaron Rai, and Paul Waring will be making their debut appearances in the event.
Continental Europe
- Francesco Molinari (c) – Italy
- Julien Guerrier – France
- Rasmus Højgaard – Denmark
- Romain Langasque – France
- Matteo Manassero – Italy
- Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen – Denmark
- Niklas Nørgaard – Denmark
- Thorbjørn Olesen – Denmark
- Matthieu Pavon – France
- Antoine Rozner – France
Molinari will once again skipper the side which boasts a strong Danish contingent. Julien Guerrier, Rasmus Højgaard, Romain Langasque, Matteo Manassero, Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen, Niklas Nørgaard, Thorbjørn Olesen and Matthieu Pavon will all be making their event debuts.
Format
The event will consist of three days of play which will include fourballs, foursomes, and singles. The fourball session will take place on the Friday, the foursomes on the Saturday, and the singles matches on Sunday.
Ryder Cup Prospects
Six players from the inaugural 2023 event went on to represent Team Europe in the Ryder Cup just months later, highlighting the event’s importance as a platform for players to showcase their talent and earn consideration for selection later in the year. Donald will certainly hope to pick up a few pointers ahead of September as he begins to eye up who could make his 12-man team.
Where Can I Watch?
Each day of the Team Cup will be available to view live on the Golf Channel.