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Tommy Fleetwood, who recently moved to live in Dubai, believes the newly announced Heroes Cup and Abu Dhabi will play a key role in the European team’s chances of trying to recapture the Ryder Cup in Italy next year.
The Heroes Cup, a Ryder Cup-style team competition between Great Britain and Ireland and continental Europe, will be held at the Abu Dhabi Golf Club from January 13-15. This is the first race of the DP World Tour in four weeks in the UAE. The Championship will be followed by the $9 million Rolex Series – the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship (January 19-22) and the Dubai Desert Classic (January 26-29). The tour then moves to Ras Al Khaimah for the $2 million RAK Championship.
Fleetwood has been named captain of Team GB&I, while Italian Francesco Molinari is the other half of the famous ‘Mollywood’ Ryder Cup partnership at the 2019 event in Paris Unbeaten in China, will take the lead in challenging the European continental team.
Tommy Fleetwood and Francesco Molinari will captain Great Britain and Ireland and Continental Europe respectively in next year’s Heroes Cup
Image Credit: Supplied
“I’m going to talk about the Europeans as a whole. I think that’s a very important part of how we want to perform in the Ryder Cup,” said Fleetwood, who turns 32 on the final day of the tournament and could be in the He raised the trophy on his birthday.
“I mean, we started talking about it from the moment we flew home from Whistling Straits after the loss (in the 2021 Ryder Cup). Team competition again.
“It’s just another opportunity to play team golf and get us ready for the Ryder Cup. That’s really important. I think we’ve done a great job of that. Abu Dhabi is going to be an incredible place, Whether it’s the field or the weather. Luke (Donald, Ryder Cup Europe captain) will be there and it will be a good opportunity for some players to make an early impression of him.”
Donald has revealed 18 players for the 10-man team event, including several young stars who have a chance to make their Roma debut, as well as veterans like Sean Lowry, Tyrell Hatton and Alex Nolen Rich star.
Fleetwood, a two-time winner of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship at Abu Dhabi Golf Club (the event moved to the nearby Yas Links this year), said he was honored to be named captain and that his father couldn’t be happier than he he.
Tommy is a two-time winner of the DP World Tour HSBC Championship in Abu Dhabi
“When I told my dad Luke asked me to captain GB&I, he was more proud than anything I’d ever won. For me, that emotion was a really cool part of it. I’ve always loved being in golf. Play the team element,” Fleetwood told Gulf News on the sidelines of Tiger Woods’ Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas.
“I would never seek to be a captain. But Luke asked me, and I was taken aback, to be honest. It was a lovely thing to be asked by him. I wasn’t at the age where I would consider being a (Ryder Cup) captain. , but it’s a good thing that someone like Luke and the people who chose me saw my leadership qualities in a way.”
Asked what kind of captain Fleetwood thought he would be, the Brit, ranked 23rd in the world, said: “I just want to make sure I support everyone who plays as much as possible. Everyone feels confident, making sure they all enjoy it and making sure they have the best chance to play to their ability on the golf course in a team atmosphere.
“It’s definitely different. The practice rounds are different, the games are different every day. But the more we can play as freely as possible, do our own thing and believe in our abilities, the better our chances of winning trophies.”
Fleetwood, who recently opened his Tommy Fleetwood Academy at the Jumeirah Golf Estate in Dubai, is also excited to play against his good friend Molinari.
“That would be fun. We were close even before the Paris Ryder Cup and it was always fun to be with Frank,” said the recent Ryder Bank Golf Challenge winner.
Tommy Fleetwood defends title at Nedbank Golf Challenge in South Africa
Image Credit: Supplied
“I probably won’t do much. It’s really Ryder Cup preparation. I’ll leave a lot of things to Luke. But we all love being there, we all love competing.
“And because the whole theme of this tournament is so Ryder Cup-oriented, and we’re targeting September, I think we’re going to do a lot of things together. But Frank and I both want to be a winning captain. Yet , no matter what happens, it will be a great experience.
“I’m just looking forward to playing with the guys from GB&I. I think no matter what team you play in, whether it’s GB&I, whether it’s Europe, whether it’s the Eurasian Cup or the President, you always have a very different level of bonding. , it’s like playing together as a team. You make friends for life. That’s a big deal for me.”
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