The inaugural Hero Cup is almost upon us, as the golfing world prepares for its newest competition.
Europe's finest golfers will face off in preparation for the Ryder Cup later this year, in a brand new match play tournament - we have all the info you need on the first ever Hero Cup.
Hero Cup: Teams, schedule, and format for new competition
What is the Hero Cup?
The Hero Cup was announced in September, and has been devised as a way for Europe's golfers to prepare themselves for the 2023 Ryder Cup in Rome.
The tournament will see two European teams face off over the course of three days of golf.
One team consists of ten players from Great Britain and Ireland, and the other team is made up of ten players from continental Europe. One of those players on each team is designated as team captain - Francesco Molinari for Europe, Tommy Fleetwood for GB/Europe. The teams were selected with the help of European Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald.
When is the 2023 edition taking place?
The 2023 Hero Cup will take place from Friday January 13th to Sunday January 15th at the Abu Dhabi Golf Club in the United Arab Emirates.
What are the European and GB/Ireland teams?
There are two Irish players involved on the GB/Ireland team, with Shane Lowry and Seamus Power both in action in Abu Dhabi. They will be captained by Tommy Fleetwood, while Lowry can perhaps expect a hurling/shinty challenge from Robert MacIntyre over the course of the weekend.
30 June 2022; Seamus Power of Ireland putts for birdie on the ninth green as Shane Lowry of Ireland watches on during day one of the Horizon Irish Open Golf Championship at Mount Juliet Golf Club in Thomastown, Kilkenny. Photo by Eóin Noonan/Sportsfile
Francesco Molinari will captain a European team that features a fellow Italian in Guido Migliozzi. Both men will hope to sufficiently impress team captain Luke Donald, ahead of a Ryder Cup on home soil later this year.
| Hero Cup Team Europe | Hero Cup Team GB and Ireland |
| Francesco Molinari (Italy) | Tommy Fleetwood (England) |
| Thomas Detry (Belgium) | Ewen Ferguson (Scotland) |
| Rasmus Hojgaard (Denmark) | Tyrrell Hatton (England) |
| Adrien Maronk (Poland) | Shane Lowry (Ireland) |
| Guido Migliozzi (Italian) | Robert MacIntyre (Scotland) |
| Alex Noren (Sweden) | Richard Mansell (England) |
| Victor Perez (French) | Seamus Power (Ireland) |
| Thomas Pieters (Belgium) | Callum Shinkwin (England) |
| Antoine Rozner (France) | Jordan Smith (England) |
| Sepp Straka (Austria) | Matt Wallace (England) |
What is the format for the Hero Cup?
In a key difference with the Ryder Cup, every player will play in each session at the Hero Cup.
After a practice day on Wednesday, and a pro-am on Thursday, the weekend's golf will get underway with a single fourballs session, with five matches on Friday morning.
Saturday will then see two foursomes sessions - one in the morning and one in the evening, before ten singles matches take place on Sunday morning.
What is the schedule for the week?
The following is the schedule for the inaugural Hero Cup:
- Friday January 13th: Five fourball matches (7:05am Irish time)
- Saturday January 14th: Five foursomes matches (3:35am Irish time)
- Saturday January 14th: Five foursomes matches (8:20am Irish time)
- Sunday January 15th: 10 singles matches (6:35am Irish time)
How to watch the Hero Cup
The Hero Cup will be broadcast live on Sky Sports Golf throughout the weekend.
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