…. Albany, The Bahamas
GB&I Hero Cup captain Tommy Fleetwood says there is no guarantee the Scottish duo of Ewen Ferguson and Robert MacIntyre will be paired in January’s inaugural staging of the event.
The double Tour winning pair of Scots were among eight players chosen by Fleetwood to take-on a Francesco Molinari led European team and with each captain still to name a ninth player ahead of the event from January 13th to 15th in Abu Dhabi
It will be a first pro-team event for Ferguson and MacIntyre, who between them boast very strong amateur team representation capped with Walker Cup selection.
But according to Fleetwood, and speaking to the GolfByTourMiss at this week’s Hero World Challenge in The Bahamas, this could mean nothing come next January.
Fleetwood said: “Just because there is two Scottish, and also two Irish in my team, there is no guarantee they will be paired as it will be a case of who wants to play together and who thinks who will match well against players in the European side
“These encounters, and like the Seve Trophy and EurAsia Cup are always about looking to the future as with regards who could then go on and play in a Ryder Cup.
“Yes, there might be an all-Irish pairing and there may be an all-Scottish pairing, and I may arrange for all-England pairings but we’ll just have to wait and see.
“What Luke (Donald – Ryder Cup captain) really wants is that the Hero Cup be planning for the future and then seeing come September what the make-up will be of the Ryder Cup he’ll take to Rome.”
However, Fleetwood agreed there is no denying Ferguson’s credentials following just a second season in the DP World Tour ranks when he won twice.
Fleetwood said: “Ewen’s a fantastic young talent who’s coming off an amazing season, and I like the way he goes about things.
“He earned his place in the team and I know he’s really excited to be teeing-up in Abu Dhabi.
“Jordan Smith’s another who’s had a fantastic year, so there are a few guys in both sides that are relatively young players including Adrian Meronk and Sepp Straka, who are exciting young players and they’re players we don’t get to see too much on the DP World Tour.
“It’s going to be great to get both sides together in that team environment and seeing how they get on and really getting to know them better.
“Luke wants the event to be a very big Ryder Cup theme, so there will be guys on either side that can help in that regard.
“As well, there is going to be functions, sit down talks and so on, all with the Ryder Cup in mind, so that also is going to be a strong theme in the week.”
