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.
'It's a challenge for us, really, to discover what it is to be leading a team. It's a new role and I think we all learned from the captains we had in the past. Winning Ryder Cup teams, Colin Montgomerie, José María Olazábal, Thomas Bjørn, very successful and yeah, everything you try to pick from each of the captains you've had and add a little bit of your style,' said Francesco Molinari.
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.
'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. I think, yeah, 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 time a time,' said Tommy Fleetwood.
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.
'Innovation is at the core of everything that we do at Hero, and we continue to expand this philosophy in everything else that we do beyond just making motorcycles and scooters, or whether it's sports or any other association we have, especially in golf.
'You all know at the DP World Tour, we have been innovating every few years with The Hero Challenge and some of the other events that are going on on the Tour. The contribution us, the promotion of golf, and support to golfers around the world through our association with marquis golfing events is an inspiring story that is well-known to most of you,' said Dr Pawan Munjal.
Alongside the match play showpiece, the second G4D Tour event of the year will take place across the first two days of the tournament, with ten of the world’s best Golfers with a Disability compete across 36 holes of stroke play.
