Tommy Fleetwood And Francesco Molinari Named As Hero Cup Captains
The 2018 Ryder Cup stars will go head-to-head as playing captains in the 2023 Hero Cup
Tommy Fleetwood and Francesco Molinari have been named as playing captains for next year's Hero Cup.
The team match play competition will see Great Britain and Ireland take on Continental Europe at Abu Dhabi Golf Club from January 13-15, 2023, with Fleetwood and Molinari each selecting nine players for their teams.
Selection will take into account performances on the DP World Tour Rankings while the contest itself will consist of one session of foursomes, one session of fourballs and one session of singles matches. All 20 players will take part in each session with members of the winning team earning $125,000 and those on the losing team each receiving $75,000.
Luke Donald, the 2023 European Ryder Cup captain, paid tribute to Fleetwood and Molinari for "supporting this overall concept" that is seen as an ideal testing ground for the next generation of European players ahead of the biennial contest next September.
Very happy to have Tommy and Francesco involved in this new matchplay event. Some matchplay the year of the Ryder Cup is an important part of the process. https://t.co/YroNZ76G31November 9, 2022
Molinari and Fleetwood famously forged a formidable partnership for Europe in the 2018 Ryder Cup at Le Golf National in Paris, winning all four of their matches together to earn the nickname ‘Moliwood’.
"The Hero Cup is a great idea and will be a very good way for European players to get some more experience of playing in team match play. I definitely felt like it benefited me when I played in similar events in the past," Molinari said.
"Hopefully as Captains, Tommy and I can bring some of our own experience of team golf to help the other players and we are looking forward to working with Luke on this exciting new concept ahead of a big year for European golf with the Ryder Cup taking place in my home country."
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Fleetwood added: "Fran and I obviously get on very well so I am sure it will feel a little strange at first being opposing Captains, but I think the Hero Cup is a fantastic way for players to compete in team match play, which is something both of us have always relished.
"Abu Dhabi has been pretty good to me over the years so hopefully that will continue in January and I look forward to working closely with Fran and Luke, as well as all the players."
A lifelong golf fan, Andy graduated in 2019 with a degree in Sports Journalism and got his first role in the industry as the Instruction Editor for National Club Golfer. From there, he decided to go freelance and now covers a variety of topics for Golf Monthly.
Andy took up the game at the age of seven and even harboured ambitions of a career in the professional ranks for a spell. That didn’t pan out, but he still enjoys his weekend golf at Royal Troon and holds a scratch handicap. As a side note, he's made five holes-in-one and could quite possibly be Retief Goosen’s biggest fan.
As well as the above, some of Andy's work has featured on websites such as goal.com, dailyrecord.co.uk, and theopen.com.
What's in Andy's bag?
Driver: Callaway Mavrik Sub-Zero (9°)
3-wood: TaylorMade Stealth 2 Plus (15°)
Driving iron: Titleist U500 (17°)
Irons: Mizuno mp32 (4-PW)
Wedges: Titleist Vokey SM9 (50°, 54° and 58°)
Putter: Titleist Scotty Cameron Newport 2.5
Ball: TaylorMade TP5x
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