The DP World Tour has announced this Wednesday the team line-ups for the Team Cup taking place next January in Abu Dhabi. As you know, this competition serves as a testing ground for the Ryder Cup and pits Great Britain and Ireland against a team of golfers from continental Europe. What has been known for some time is that Englishman Justin Rose and Italian Francesco Molinari will be the player-captains. Today, the names of eight golfers from each team have been revealed, with one more selection to be made in two weeks, following the conclusion of the Nedbank Golf Challenge in South Africa. The squads are composed of ten players each.
For the British Isles team, the selected players are Laurie Canter, Tommy Fleetwood, Matt Wallace, Tyrrell Hatton, Jordan Smith, Tom McKibbin, Aaron Rai, and Paul Waring. Meanwhile, for continental Europe, the confirmed players are Nicolai and Rasmus Hojgaard, Thorbjorn Olesen, Niklas Norgaard, Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen, Matteo Manassero, Antoine Rozner, and Matthieu Pavon.
Obviously, there is still a long way to go until the Ryder Cup, and many things can happen before then, but this selection provides some interesting insights.
– The strength of Danish golf at the moment in European golf. No less than five players in the continental team.
– The firm commitment to having the Hojgaard brothers as a pair in the Ryder.
– The absence of Spanish golfers, at least for now.
– The commitment of a player like Fleetwood or Hatton’s immense desire to show Luke Donald that nothing is more important to him in 2025 than playing the Ryder Cup.
– The absence of players like Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, Viktor Hovland, or Ludvig Aberg. In the case of the first two, it could be justified that with them, there’s nothing to prove, they are two very secure assets for the Ryder Cup, but it wouldn’t hurt, as a gesture to the team, for them to make an appearance that week, especially considering it takes place just before the Hero Dubai Desert Classic, a tournament where McIlroy will surely be and Rahm is very likely to be present. The cases of Hovland and Aberg may be related to their prolonged absence due to physical reasons.
– Also absent are Robert MacIntyre, who will be playing in Hawaii at the Sentry Tournament, the PGA Tour champions’ tournament, just the week before the Team Cup, Shane Lowry, who has decided to take nine weeks off, Sepp Straka, or Matthew Fitzpatrick. It’s also noteworthy that Jesper Svensson, a Swedish golfer who finished in tenth position in the Race To Dubai, is not present. This case can only be understood if he has decided to focus all his efforts on the PGA Tour at the start of 2025 and, therefore, will play the Sony Open, a tournament that coincides with the Team Cup, and the American Express.
– There is one last spot on both sides that will be decided right after the Nedbank Golf Challenge. It is possible that a Spaniard might be included. The main candidates are Jorge Campillo, Ángel Hidalgo, Nacho Elvira, and Adrián Otaegui, all of whom were in the Dubai Final. It cannot be ruled out that it could be Jon Rahm, although it seems very unlikely.
The Team Cup will be held at the Abu Dhabi Golf Club from 10th to 12th January, just before the Desert Classic.
