Team Cup 2025 Preview, Picks & Analysis

At some point, the Team Cup, taking place in Abu Dhabi this week, must have seemed like a good idea. 

It was originally designed to bring together 20 golfers who were likely to be in contention for European Ryder Cup places and pits a GB&I team against a side from Continental Europe.

But there are two big issues. First, it is being played in early January - the Ryder Cup will be played in New York in September. Form comes and goes and those who are playing well now may well be out of touch later in the season.

More importantly, the likes of Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, Shane Lowry, Matthew Fitzpatrick and Viktor Hovland are nowhere to be seen - and they are five players who are likely to form the backbone of Luke Donald’s team.

GB&I will be captained by Justin Rose, who will be hoping to make the team himself, while Continental Europe are led by Francesco Molinari.

It is encouraging to see Tyrrell Hatton making himself available - a clear sign that the LIV golfer is desperate to make the cut for Europe.

Rose’s full team is Laurie Canter, Tommy Fleetwood, Hatton, Tom McKibbin, Aaron Rai, Jordan Smith, Matt Wallace, Paul Waring and Matthew Jordan. 

Molinari’s side comprises Nicolai and Rasmus Hojgaard, Matteo Manassero, Rasmus Neergard-Petersen, Niklas Norgaard, Thorbjorn Olesen, Matthieu Pavon, Antoine Rozner and Romain Langasque.

So how many of these players have realistic hopes of making the Ryder Cup team? Fleetwood and Hatton look like shoo-ins and I would also expect the Hojgaard twins to be there. Pavon is surely going to struggle to maintain the astonishing form he showed on the PGA Tour in 2024, and I would be extremely surprised if any of the other golfers in action this week are going to be teeing it up at Bethpage Black.

Molinari will lead Continental Europe in their defence of the Team Cup, which they won in 2023 after defeating Great Britain & Ireland 14½ - 10½, in the three-day match play contest. The teams 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 every player taking part in each session.

Both sides will each have representation from three Ryder Cup players, with three-time Ryder Cup player Molinari joined by Nicolai Hojgaard and Olesen, and six-time Ryder Cup star Rose teeing it up alongside Fleetwood and Hatton.

Olesen, who represented Europe at the 2018 Ryder Cup, was one of the four automatic qualifiers for Molinari’s side, with fellow Scandinavians Rasmus Hojgaard and Norgaard and Italian Manassero also earning an automatic place on the Continental European side.

Rasmus had been selected to compete in the 2023 edition of the match play contest but was forced to withdraw due to injury. Since his return to competitive action he has won his fourth and fifth DP World Tour titles, becoming the first Dane to win Made in HimmerLand in 2023 and he then held off the challenge of Rory McIlroy to win the Amgen Irish Open last year.

Norgaard claimed his maiden victory at the British Masters, while Manassero made a welcome return to the winner’s circle, claiming his first DP World Tour title for nearly 11 years at the Jonsson Workwear Open.

Rounding out the Continental European side are the French trio of Pavon, who became the first Frenchman to win on the PGA Tour in more than 100 years earlier this year, Antoine Rozner, who played in 2023 and recently earned dual membership on the PGA Tour, and Langasque, along with the Danish duo of Ryder Cup player Nicolai Hojgaard and Challenge Tour Number One Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen.

Nicolai was called up to replace his brother in the Continental Europe side for the 2023 edition of the Team Cup and then went on to represent Europe in the Ryder Cup at Marco Simone. 

Both Fleetwood and Hatton, who also competed in the 2023 edition of the event, automatically qualified for the Great Britain & Ireland side alongside Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship winner Waring and five-time DP World Tour winner Wallace.

Wallace will be making his second appearance in this event after winning the European Masters. He also became a PGA Tour winner in 2023, claiming the Corales Puntacana Championship, while Waring became the DP World Tour’s most surprising first-time Rolex Series winner after carding a career-low round of 61 and setting a new low 36-hole score to par in Abu Dhabi.

Joining them on Rose’s side will be Northern Irishman McKibbin, who earned dual membership on the PGA Tour for 2025 after another strong season, two-time DP World Tour winner Smith of England, his compatriots Canter, who earned a maiden title at the European Open, and Rai, who is the most recent English winner on the PGA Tour after claiming the Wyndham Championship in August.

Jordan made his DP World Tour debut in 2018 in the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship before earning full playing rights a year later after securing promotion from the Challenge Tour.

He enjoyed his best year to date in 2024, finishing 41st on the season-long Race to Dubai Rankings thanks to six top ten finishes which included a tied tenth place in The 152nd Open Championship at Royal Troon. Jordan is no stranger to team golf having represented GB&I at the 2017 Walker Cup, and represented Europe in the Bonallack Trophy in 2018.

The Course:

Abu Dhabi Golf Resort is par 72 that measures 7,642 yards. The course is set against a stunning desert landscape, with immaculately maintained fairways and greens that offer a true test of golfing skill. The course features a variety of challenges, from water hazards and bunkers to doglegs and tricky greens, ensuring that every round is both exciting and rewarding.

How You Can Watch:

Friday, January 10-Sunday, January 12, Sky Sports Golf, 7.30am