Hatton, Lowry and Fleetwood return to Abu Dhabi for inaugural Hero Cup

Tommy Fleetwood and Francesco Molinari will lead the Great Britain and Continental Europe teams at the inaugural Hero Cup in Abu Dhabi from January 13 to 15, the competition being modelled on an part of preparations for this year’s Ryder Cup against defending champions the United States.

The Abu Dhabi Golf Club will play host to the three-day bash that has drawn some of Europe’s top names and will be part of the DP World (European) Tour’s West Asia/Middle East swing that includes the $9 million Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship (January 19 to 22), the $9 million Hero Dubai Desert Classic (January 26 to 29) and the $2 million Ras Al Khaimah Championship (February 2 to 5).

The field is limited to 20 players and includes the likes of Shane Lowry and former winner at the iconic National course, Tyrrel Hatton turn out for Fleetwood’s Britain.

The venue was previously host to the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship for 16 years in a row from 2006, which will be played at the Yas Links for the second time.

The Hero Cup will see one session of fourballs on Friday, two rounds of foursomes on Saturday followed by the singles matches that will take place on Sunday with all 20 players taking part.

Hatton was the last winner on the National course with a dominant performance that saw the Englishman finish four shots clear at the top in 2021 for his fourth Rolex Series triumph.

“It was very special to win here at such an amazing tournament. I love starting my season out here in the Middle East and it obviously holds a special place in my heart,” a pre-event statement quited Hatton as saying.

Hatton will be alongside former winner of the first Rolex Series event of the season in Shane Lowry, who got a birdie on the very last hole in 2019 to beat Richard Sterne by a shot.

The Irishman carried that form through to the summer and into a remarkable win at weather-hit The Open Championship.

"I couldn't really have envisaged what happened," said Lowry on his 2019 season. "It was obviously really nice to get off to an unbelievable start in Abu Dhabi, winning one of the biggest events on Tour.

Fleetwood will oversee matters for Britain at Abu Dhabi Golf Club a two-time winner of the HSBC Championship.

The Englishman won for the first time in 2017, when he edged out Dustin Johnson and Pablo Larrazabal by a solitary shot, before going back-to-back the following January with a two-stroke victory over Ross Fisher in 2018.

“I feel very at home on the National Course,” said Fleetwood.