Between Friday, January 10 and Sunday, January 12, just the second-ever Team Cup is set to take place – a competition sanctioned by the DP World Tour which sees two sets of 10 pro golfers do battle for either Great Britain & Ireland or Continental Europe.
Current Ryder Cup captain, Luke Donald was keen to reinstate a team event especially for European Tour players after being appointed ahead of Marco Simone.
The first Team Cup took place in 2023 before Europe’s Ryder Cup victory over Team USA in Italy, and future competitions are slated to continue in the build-up to a Ryder Cup and during the DP World Tour’s early-season break.
Continental Europe secured the maiden bragging rights after a 14.5 – 10.5 success at Abu Dhabi Golf Resort, with Nicolai Hojgaard and Sepp Straka going on to repeat their team triumph alongside Rory McIlroy and co later that year.
The idea behind what had been called the Hero Cup during its first iteration was to give players and possible future captains an experience of a Ryder Cup-like competition ahead of their potential debuts further down the line.
Continental Europe celebrate the Hero Cup in 2023
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Francesco Molinari led Continental Europe during the event’s debut in 2023 while Tommy Fleetwood was in charge of GB&I. Both men were player-captains – a role which will continue to be utilized in 2025.
But while both sides possessed an eclectic mix of nations last time out, there are just five countries represented this time around.
TEAM CUP ROSTERS 2025
Great Britain and Ireland Team Cup Roster
- England – Justin Rose (c)
- England – Laurie Canter
- England – Tommy Fleetwood
- England – Tyrrell Hatton
- England – Matthew Jordan
- Northern Ireland – Tom McKibbin
- England – Aaron Rai
- England – Jordan Smith
- England – Matt Wallace
- England – Paul Waring
Justin Rose will captain GB&I at the 2025 Team Cup
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Justin Rose takes over the player-captain role from Fleetwood in 2025, with the 11-time PGA Tour winner a clear candidate to fulfil a Ryder Cup captaincy position in the future.
Laurie Canter, Matthew Jordan, Tom McKibbin, Aaron Rai, and Paul Waring will make their debuts in this event alongside Rose as Wallace, Smith, Hatton and Fleetwood all return.
Continental Europe Team Cup Roster
- Italy – Francesco Molinari (c)
- Denmark – Nicolai Højgaard
- Denmark – Rasmus Højgaard
- France – Romain Langasque
- Italy – Matteo Manassero
- Denmark – Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen
- Denmark – Niklas Nørgaard
- Denmark – Thorbjørn Olesen
- France – Matthieu Pavon
- France – Antoine Rozner
Francesco Molinari will captain Continental Europe at the 2025 Team Cup
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Molinari will once again head up the Continental Europe squad, which consists of only Italian, French and Danish golfers. Denmark is enjoying a particularly strong run of generating top European talent in recent seasons, with Nicolai Hojgaard lining up for the hosts at the most recent Ryder Cup.
Nicolai is one of just three players to return alongside his captain and Antoine Rozner. Each of the other nine golfers will make their debuts.
HOW DO PLAYERS QUALIFY FOR THE TEAM CUP?
Put simply, they don’t qualify. The captains were picked by the European Tour and the remaining golfers are chosen by the aforementioned skippers in consultation with Luke Donald.
Golfers who might not be automatic locks for the forthcoming Ryder Cup could be selected, alongside a handful of players with experience of the biennial competitions.
A handful of players who enjoyed a strong end to the last campaign and stand a chance of qualifying for the 2025 Ryder Cup with more excellent form may also be invited to the Team Cup.
Team Europe’s Ryder Cup captain, Luke Donald
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TEAM CUP FORMAT
Similar to the Ryder Cup, the Team Cup is contested over three days and features foursomes, fourballs, and singles matches. Slightly different to the Ryder Cup, though, is that every player tees it up in each session and there is only one session on Friday with two rounds of tee times during Saturday.
The 2025 schedule includes a fourball session only on Friday, two separate foursomes sessions on Saturday (one in the morning and the other in the afternoon), and 10 singles matches on Sunday.
WHERE IS THE TEAM CUP TAKING PLACE?
The 2025 Team Cup is being hosted by Abu Dhabi Golf Resort. The 7,648-yard par-72 was used last time out as well and led to a thrilling few days of competition.
It is not the same course used by the DP World Tour for the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, with Yas Links holding that honor around 16km (10 miles) away.
Abu Dhabi Golf Club with the clubhouse in the background
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TEAM CUP PRIZE MONEY
In 2023, there was a total prize purse of $2 million. Each member of the winning team from Continental Europe earned $125,000, with those on the losing GB&I team each receiving $75,000.
HOW TO WATCH THE TEAM CUP
USA (ET)
- Friday, January 10 – (Fourballs): 3:00am – 8:00am (Golf Channel/NBC Sports App)
- Friday/Saturday, January 10/11 – (Foursomes): 10:30pm – 8:00am (Golf Channel/NBC Sports App)
- Sunday, January 12 – (Singles): 1:30am – 7:00am (Golf Channel/NBC Sports App)
UK (GMT)
- Friday, January 10 – (Fourballs): 7:00am – 1:00pm (Sky Sports Golf)
- Saturday, January 11 – (Foursomes): 6:00am – 1:00pm (Sky Sports Golf)
- Sunday, January 12 – (Singles): 6:30am – 12:00pm (Sky Sports Golf)