Fleetwood’s Hero Cup Team Look Strong On Paper With Obvious Pairings In Scots & Irish

 

GB & I Hero Cup captain Tommy Fleetwood’s choice of team partners seems pretty obvious ahead of the inaugural hosting of the inaugural event next January in Abu Dhabi. 

Fleetwood will be a playing captain leading a 10-man team featuring the Tartan duo of Ewen Ferguson and Robert MacIntyre along with the Irish pair of Shane Lowry and Seamus Power plus four English in Tyrrell Hatton, Callum Shinkwin, Jordan Smith and Matt Wallace.

Fleetwood’s victorious 2018 Versailles ‘Moliwood’ partner Francesco Molinari will captain a European Team featuring Belgium’s Thomas Detry, Dane Rasmus Hojgaard, Austrian Adrian Meronk, Swede Alex Noren, Italian Guido Migliozzi, Frenchman Victor Perez, Belgium Thomas Pieters and Austrian Sepp Straka. 

Each captain still has one player to name in making up their team for the event being staged from the 13th to 15th January on the Abu Dhabi course in the UAE capital.

Overseeing the event will be 2023 European Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald, who was pivotal in going to the DP World Tour to seek the return of the event that was previously played every Ryder Cup year as the Seve Trophy and to four-years ago, the EurAsia Cup.

Donald said: “We all thought it was important to combine experience and youthfulness and I think we have found that balance with a mixture of Major Champions and Ryder Cup players, alongside guys who are hoping to secure a spot in Rome next year.”

On paper, GB & I boast the strongest side with three players – Lowry (No. 20 in the world), Fleetwood (23) and Power (28) while the highest-ranked trio in Molinari’s side is Straka (29), Pieters (39) and Noren (41).

Fleetwood, in speaking to the Daily Record earlier this month in Dubai said: “

“It’s going to be a really exciting event as it’s going to be great to start off the New Year with a big, new event out in Abu Dhabi that will help in the build-up to the Ryder Cup.

“We know there is a few guys who would be selected can’t play but then that presents opportunities for other players to make the Hero team, and get to experience that team environment that they may never had tasted.”

Double Tour winning Ferguson welcomed the news via his Twitter account saying: “An honour to be picked for the new #HeroCup by @lukedonald and @tommyfleetwood1”.

MacIntyre commented: “Delighted to be selected by @lukedonald and our captain @tommyfleetwood1 to represent GB&I in Abu Dhabi.  Let’s do it.”

The selection of Ferguson and MacIntyre makes the task easy for Fleetwood with two of his five teams staring you right in the face – the pair of Scots and the Irish duo.

Of the 18 players named, six have prior Ryder Cup experience in Fleetwood, Molinari, Hatton, Lowry, Pieters and Noren.

Fleetwood said: “I am really pleased with the players who will form the Great Britain and Ireland team next year.

“Having the experience of Shane and Tyrrell will be invaluable for the rest of the team in a match play environment but I think we are really strong throughout the team.

“We have proven winners in some of the biggest DP World Tour events and it will be great to have Séámus with us following his excellent start to the season in America.”



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