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The 2023 Hero Cup is here. The inaugural edition of the European event will tee-off on Friday at the Abu Dhabi Golf Club, United Arab Emirates. Ahead of the event’s premier, Europe's Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald, along with playing captains Tommy Fleetwood and Francesco Molinari, announced the pairings for Day 1.
The Hero Cup will pit 10 golfers from Continental Europe and Great Britain and Ireland against each other. The event, considered a “stepping stone” to the Ryder Cup by Donald, will see the two sides play for $125,000 of prize money and Ryder Cup team spots. Coming to the teams, the GB&I side seems to have taken the competition more seriously as skipper Tommy Fleetwood goes up with teammate Shane Lowry in the opening game itself.
Hero cup Day 1 pairings and match-ups
The Hero Cup will tee off on Friday with Thomas Pieters and Alex Noren from the European side taking on Tommy Fleetwood and Shane Lowry. Unlike the British captain, Continental Europe skipper Francesco Molinari will only go up in the fourth match on Day 1. He will team up with Nicolai Hojgaard to take on Ewen Ferguson and Richard Mansell.
Siding with Nicolai, a late replacement for his injured twin brother Rasmus, Molinari will look to start on a strong foot. Another big match-up on Day 1 will see Sepp Straka and Adrian Meronk take on Seamus Power and Robert MacIntyre.
Here are the full match-ups for Day 1:
- Thomas Pieters & Alex Noren vs Tommy Fleetwood & Shane Lowry
- Thomas Detry & Antoine Rozner vs Tyrrell Hatton & Jordan Smith
- Victor Perez & Guido Migliozzi vs Callum Shinkwin & Matt Wallace
- Francesco Molinari & Nicolai Hojgaard vs Ewen Ferguson & Richard Mansell
- Sepp Straka & Adrian Meronk vs Seamus Power & Robert MacIntyre
It is pertinent to note that Day 1 of the Hero Cup will have five four-ball matches. This will have five points on offer. The four-ball matches will be followed by five foursome games on Day 2. Sunday's final round will see 10 singles match-ups, which will ultimately decide the inaugural Hero Cup champion.
Francesco Molinari and Tommy Fleetwood excited for Hero Cup Day 1
Opening up ahead of Day 1 of the competition, Continental Europe captain Francesco Molinari lauded the two sides. Stating that the event has “some great matches”, the Italian golfer added that he might mix it up in the coming rounds.
He said, as quoted by Golf Monthly:
“I think there are some great matches. We’ve been saying all week, there are two very talented teams and there will be some exciting golf played in the next few days… Nicolai is a great player and I like to play with great players, like Tommy. We’ve got guys who are easy to pair up. We might mix it up in the next few days a bit but I think his is the best way to start tomorrow.”
Tommy Fleetwood also exuded confidence on his side. The Hero Cup skipper stated that his players “worked out really well” and the matches looked “great.”
He said:
“We’ve loaded up all the way through really. We have a great team but there are no easy matches. That’s a great team as well but I feel very confident in my guys, like we all do. It’s great to see the pairings finally out and I’m looking forward to seeing what’s going to happen… I concentrated on our guys but it’s worked out really well. I think the matches look great.”
It'll be interesting to see how the two teams fair with Ryder Cup team spots up for grabs.
