Molinari and Fleetwood get down to work as teams assemble for inaugural Hero Cup in Abu Dhabi

 Francesco Molinari, Captain of Continental Europe, and Tommy Fleetwood, Captain of Great Britain and Ireland, pose with the trophy with Dr Pawan Munjal, Chairman and CEO of Hero MotoCorp, prior to the Hero Cup at Abu Dhabi Golf Club on January 11, 2023 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images). 

Khel Today Bureau

Abu Dhabi, UAE: Francesco Molinari and Tommy Fleetwood are excited to make their captaincy debuts as they prepare to lead their respective Continental Europe and Great Britain & Ireland teams at the inaugural Hero Cup at Abu Dhabi Golf Club.

The duo, who forged an exceptional partnership at Le Golf National in 2018 in contributing four points from four towards Team Europe’s triumph in the Ryder Cup, will compete as playing captains this week as they go head-to-head by leading two teams which each contain an exciting mix of Major Champions, proven winners and some of the most promising young players in golf.

“I think both Tommy and I are lucky this week that we have really two good groups of professionals and guys who are motivated,” said Molinari. “They all come here trying to get ready to play some good golf, Friday, Saturday and Sunday and that obviously makes our job a lot easier.

“You also have the support of Luke and the vice captains. It’s going to be a fun week and it’s going to be a busy week for the two of us, but it will be a great chance to learn and make mistakes, hopefully not too many, and just try to make the guys comfortable and have them play the golf that we know they can play, have a great competition, and we’ll see who comes out on top on Sunday.”
Fleetwood added: “I look back on other team events that I’ve played in the past and how important they were to myself, to the teammates and the captains and everybody else involved. We had a really good night last night that was very rightfully themed, we had Paul McGinley speak and Thomas Bjørn and Luke. The Ryder Cup is a huge motivator for every player in Europe that has a chance to play in September but there is a long way to go before that and you can only go one week at a time.”

The two teams of ten, which were constructed by the two captains alongside 2023 Ryder Cup Captain Luke Donald, will compete across four sessions from January 13-15, with Friday’s foursomes session followed by two sessions of fourballs on Saturday, before Sunday’s Singles matches will determine the outcome of the Hero Cup.

This week’s event is sponsored by Dr Pawan Munjal and Hero MotoCorp, the world’s largest manufacturer of motorcycles and a long-term partner of the European Tour group. Including this week’s event, Hero MotoCorp will sponsor three events on the DP World Tour schedule in 2023 in the form of the forthcoming Hero Dubai Desert Classic, a Rolex Series event, and the Hero Indian Open.

“We have often talked about a team match-play contest, and to give team and leadership experience to the players, that is something that resonates with us here at Hero MotoCorp as well, and authentic leadership is encouraged and practiced every day,” said Dr Pawan Munjal.

“”Luke has, in fact, done a fantastic job with both Tommy and Francesco here in putting together a field that has the best of emerging talent and as well as established major champions and Ryder Cup stars from UK, Ireland and Continental Europe. I’m sure this is going to be a fantastic week of top-class golf that will witness a tussle on the course between these two strong teams.”

The teams:

Continental Europe

Captain: Francisco Molinari

Players: Thomas Detry, Nicolai Højgaard, Adrian Meronk, Guido Migliozzi, Alex Noren, Viktor Perez, Thomas Pieters, Sepp Straka and Antonire Rozner.

Great Britain & Ireland

Captain: Tommy Fleetwood

Players: Ewen Ferguson, Tyrrell Hatton, Shane Lowry, Robert MacIntyre, Seamus Power, Callum Shinkwin, Jordan Smith, Matt Wallace and Richard Mansell.