EUROPE WILL PREPARE for next year’s Ryder Cup by pitting the best British and Irish golfers against their European counterparts in a new team matchplay event in Abu Dhabi in January.

The Hero Cup, which is scheduled for Abu Dhabi Golf Club from 13-15 January, will see the two ten-man teams go head to head over three days.

The format will be an abridged version of the traditional Ryder Cup format with one foursomes (alternate shot) session, one fourball session, and one singles session, with players taking part in all three sessions.

The two teams will be picked after the DP World Tour Championship in November, taking the tour’s season-long rankings into consideration.

“One of the first things I was keen to do when I was appointed as Ryder Cup captain was to reinstate a team match play contest to give playing and leadership experience to future Ryder Cup players, vice-captains and captains,” European Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald said.

“I spoke to a number of former Ryder Cup captains who were strong advocates of how similar events in the past have benefitted players who were pushing to make Ryder Cup teams, as well as their own captaincy journey.”