Francesco Molinari and Justin Rose named as game captains for the 2025 Team Cup
The Team Cup (formerly the Hero Cup) returns for its second edition in 2025, two years after the inaugural event, when teams from continental Europe and the UK and Ireland compete in three days of action.
The tournament is scheduled to begin on January 10 at the Abu Dhabi Golf Resort and the captains have been confirmed. Francesco Molinari will lead the 10-strong Continental European team, with Justin Rose at the helm for Great Britain and Ireland.
For 2018 Open champion Molinari, the match will be his second appearance in the role, having led continental Europe to victory early last year, while for 2013 US Open winner Rose, it will be his first time as captain, succeeding Tommy Fleetwood, who led the UK and Ireland championship in 2023.
The competition offers players the opportunity to gain valuable experience in team match play golf ahead of the Ryder Cup, which will be held at Bethpage Black in September next year.
In addition, European team captain Luke Donald will have the opportunity to take a look at some of the players who could potentially travel to the United States to defend the trophy the team won at Marco Simone in 2023.
Donald explained why he thinks the game is a worthwhile endeavour. He said: “I’m really excited to see the Team Cup come back as it provided invaluable experience for many players last year. I think we all took a lot away from it this week in terms of the uniqueness of a team environment.”
Luke Donald has welcomed the return of the Team Cup
(Image credit: Getty Images)
“It also helped everyone involved to understand what it means to represent Europe at the Ryder Cup through the former Ryder Cup captains who came and spoke to the players during the event.
Commenting on the appointment of Molinari and Rose, Donald added: “I am delighted that Francesco and Justin will take on the role of captains.
“We saw what Francesco is capable of when he led Continental Europe to a big win in 2023, and Justin was an inspiration both inside and outside the ropes with Marco Simone last year. I’m excited to see the two go head to head.”
Molinari said: “I am delighted to have the opportunity to captain Continental Europe again and try to successfully defend the Team Cup. It was a really special week in 2023 and it was great to see players from so many different countries across the continent working towards a single goal.”
Francesco Molinari led continental Europe to victory at the 2023 Hero Cup (now Team Cup)
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Rose said the chance to build a winning team from the stars of the DP World Tour was a big attraction. He said: “There is so much exciting talent from the UK and Ireland on the DP World Tour at the moment – it will be great to have the chance to build them into a winning team.”
The teams will be selected from the top four available players from continental Europe and the UK and Ireland on the Race to Dubai 2024 rankings, with the other five players on each side selected by the captains, although Donald will also have some influence at this stage.
Teams play one round of fourball on Friday, two rounds of foursomes on Saturday and one round of singles on Sunday. Each player takes part in all four rounds. Each game is worth one point and the team with 12.5 points is declared the winner.
