Group Cup: Schedule, format and gamers concerned in Ryder Cup-style match play occasion on the DP World Tour | Golf Information

Europe will look to assert a historic Ryder Cup win on American soil later this 12 months, with 20 gamers hoping to function in Luke Donald’s facet battling it out this week in a particular three-day group competitors.

The ‘Group Cup’ sees DP World Tour golfers from Nice Britain and Eire tackle gamers from Continental Europe in a singular contest, held at Abu Dhabi Golf Resort and reside on Sky Sports activities Golf on Friday.

Who’s enjoying in it? How does the format work? Will the identical gamers be concerned within the Ryder Cup? This is all the pieces it’s worthwhile to know in regards to the match…

What’s the Group Cup?

The Group Cup is a group match on the DP World Tour, the place 10 gamers from Nice Britain and Eire tackle 10 from Continental Europe in a three-day match play occasion.

Justin Rose and Francesco Molinari will function enjoying captains of the 2 groups, with the occasion added to the DP World Tour schedule to offer gamers extra expertise in Ryder Cup-style competitions.

Donald chosen the 2 line-ups, in session with the 2 captains, forward of him taking cost of Group Europe towards the US within the Ryder Cup this September at Bethpage Black.

How did gamers qualify?

The main 4 out there gamers from the 2024 Race to Dubai rankings secured their spots in every group, with 5 captain’s picks on each side introduced by Donald after the season-ending DP World Tour Championship.

The ultimate member of every facet was then named after the Nedbank Golf Problem, the third occasion of the 2025 Race to Dubai, with each groups containing a mixture of former Ryder Cup gamers and a few of the DP World Tour’s rising stars.

Who performs for Nice Britain and Eire?

Tyrrell Hatton is the one LIV Golf participant concerned as he appears to be like to make a fourth consecutive Ryder Cup look later this 12 months, with Tommy Fleetwood, Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship winner Paul Waring and Matt Wallace all qualifying routinely.

Northern Irishman Tom McKibbin – who earned twin membership on the PGA Tour – two-time DP World Tour winner Jordan Smith, Laurie Canter and Aaron Rai are a part of Rose’s line-up, with Matthew Jordan finishing the GB and Eire group.

What about for Continental Europe?

Thorbjorn Olesen, who represented Europe on the 2018 Ryder Cup, was one of many 4 computerized qualifiers for Molinari’s facet, with Rasmus Højgaard, Niklas Nørgaard and Italian Matteo Manassero additionally securing spots through their Race to Dubai rating.

Matthieu Pavon – the primary Frenchman to win on the PGA Tour in additional than 100 years – Antoine Rozner, Ryder Cup participant Nicolai Hojgaard and Problem Tour No 1 Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen function, with Molinari a enjoying captain and Romain Langasque the ultimate choice.

What’s the format?

Just like the Ryder Cup, the Group Cup is a three-day match play group occasion comprising fourballs, foursomes and singles, though the massive distinction is that each participant performs in each session.

The 2 10-man groups will go head-to-head throughout one session of fourballs on Friday and two periods of foursomes on Saturday, with 5 matches in every session and all price a most of 1 level.

Foursomes sees two golfers from one group compete towards a pair from the opposite, with group members alternating between photographs and every group utilizing one ball. Fourballs sees every participant use his personal ball, with the bottom rating from every pair counting for the rating for his or her facet.

Each participant then returns for the Sunday singles, with a complete of 25 factors on supply throughout the three days.

Who has impressed on this occasion earlier than?

The Group Cup – previously referred to as the Hero Cup – was first performed in January 2023, with Molinari main Continental Europe to a 14½ -10½ victory over a GB and Eire group captained by Tommy Fleetwood.

The competitors shares similarities with the Seve Trophy, named after Seve Ballesteros and held eight occasions between 2000 and 2013, which gave captaincy expertise to future Ryder Cup skippers Colin Montgomerie, Jose Maria Olazabal, Sir Nick Faldo, Paul McGinley and Thomas Bjorn.

What does this imply for the Ryder Cup?

Six gamers who featured within the 2023 model of this occasion went on to symbolize Group Europe within the Ryder Cup later that 12 months, with Fleetwood – the enjoying captain for Nice Britain and Eire – claiming the successful level within the 16.5-11.5 success over Group USA in Rome.

Shane Lowry and Hatton had been each a part of Fleetwood’s group, together with Robert MacIntyre forward of his maiden Ryder Cup look, whereas Nicolai Hojgaard and Sepp Straka had been each within the Continental Europe line-up.

It’s doubtless that a number of gamers concerned within the Group Cup will probably be representing Group Europe this September in New York, the place Donald’s facet want to declare a primary away victory because the ‘Miracle at Medinah’ in 2012.

How can I watch the Group Cup?

Sky Sports activities will present full reside protection from all three days of the occasion, the primary in 2025 on the DP World Tour, with the reside motion getting beneath means on Friday from 7am on Sky Sports activities Golf.

Saturday’s double session begins at 2.30am, instantly after the conclusion of the second spherical of the PGA Tour’s Sony Open in Hawaii, with the second foursomes session anticipated to be reside from 7am.

The Sunday singles start on the earlier time of 6.30am, whilst you can obtain the Sky Sports activities App to observe a devoted weblog that gives reside textual content commentary, highlights, scores and evaluation from all three days.

Viewers can observe the protection on the transfer through SkyGo, whereas non-Sky subscribers can get Sky Sports activities to maintain up with protection or stream the most important moments on NOW. The DP World Tour is solely reside all through the 2025 season on Sky Sports activities Golf.