Golf
Team Cup: Tyrrell Hatton’s Ryder Cup hopes boosted after being named in warm-up team event in Abu Dhabi
Tyrrell Hatton’s hopes of featuring in the 2025 Ryder Cup have been boosted after he was named in Great Britain and Ireland’s line-up for January’s Team Cup.
The three-day team competition sees a mix of Ryder Cup hopefuls and DP World Tour stars compete at Abu Dhabi Golf Resort from January 10-12, with Great Britain and Ireland up against a Continental Europe line-up captained by former Open champion Francesco Molinari.
Hatton has played in the last three Ryder Cups but had his participation in doubt after joining the LIV Golf League, with the Englishman featuring on the DP World Tour during the closing weeks of the Race to Dubai season – and winning the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship – after appealing sanctions imposed on him.
Europe’s Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald confirmed the first nine competitors on each side after the conclusion of the DP World Tour Championship, with the final player in each 10-team line-up being announced following the Nedbank Golf Challenge in December.
“This event provided valuable insight for a number of players who eventually made it to Marco Simone, with six of the 20 competitors in 2023 going on to play in the Ryder Cup, three of those making their debut appearances, and we’re excited to see who can make their mark in the next year as they try and earn a place in my side for New York City,” Donald said.
All players on both sides will compete in one session of fourballs on the Friday, two sessions of foursomes on the Saturday and one session of singles on Sunday, with the event used as a warm-up match-play event ahead of the Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black in September.
Molinari will lead Continental Europe in their title defence, following their 14.5-10.5 victory in 2023, with Thorbjorn Olesen, Rasmus Hojgaard, Niklas Norgaard and Italian Matteo Manassero his automatic qualifiers as the four highest-ranked available players from the Race to Dubai standings.
Matthieu Pavon – the first Frenchman to win on the PGA Tour in more than 100 years earlier this year, Antoine Rozner, Ryder Cup player Nicolai Hojgaard and Challenge Tour No 1 Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen also feature, with Molinari a playing captain.
Hatton and Tommy Fleetwood, who also competed in the 2023 edition, automatically qualified alongside Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship winner Paul Waring and five-time DP World Tour winner Matt Wallace.
Northern Irishman Tom McKibbin, who earned dual membership on the PGA Tour, two-time DP World Tour winner Jordan Smith, Laurie Canter and Aaron Rai are part of Rose’s line-up, with the event the first tournament of 2025 on the DP World Tour.
“Having two Ryder Cup team-mates in Tommy and Tyrrell in the team will be invaluable, but I’m looking forward to seeing how the rest of the team step up to this new arena,” Rose said.
“Having also played in 2023, I’m sure Matt and Jordan will be keen to go out there and win the Team Cup so it’ll be great to watch them in action again.
“They are all proven winners on tour, but I think Europe as a whole is going to benefit massively from next year’s Team Cup as we look towards the Ryder Cup at Bethpage.”
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