Luke Donald reflects on the 'massive' importance of the Team Cup in the lead-up to the Ryder Cup 

The 2025 Ryder Cup may still be nine months away, but European captain Luke Donald is already immersed in preparations for the event. The DP World Tour Team Cup, which will be played from January 10-12, is an excellent opportunity to see some of the players who could make the team in action.

Luke Donald himself said as much in a pre-Team Cup interview. The European captain explained that the event is of "massive" importance to him, so much so that he is at the Abu Dhabi Golf Club to watch the players in action.

This was part of what Luke Donald said (via ASAP Sports):

"I think it's very important. If you look at this event two years ago, half the team we had in Rome played here two years ago. I think it has massive importance. It's a great week to sort of start off, kick off the year all together."

Further highlighting the teams boasting a wealth of experience as well as a mix of fresh energy, Donald added:

"You've got two great teams, two quality standard teams. You have rookies that are hungry to try and make a mark, and you have two guys that have a lot of experience. It's great for me to oversee it and see how these players perform under match play team competition and under that kind of pressure."

The Team Cup is played in a format very similar to the Ryder Cup. The first round is fourballs, while the second day is foursomes. The final round is a singles competition.

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Who are the players Luke Donald will be assessing in the Team Cup?

Team Cup captains Justin Rose and Francesco Molinari, other players with the trophy (Image via Getty).

The Team Cup is played between the continental European teams and Great Britain and Ireland. Each team is made up of 10 players, giving Luke Donald the opportunity to see the performance of 20 contestants firsthand.

These are the teams that Luke Donald will be evaluating:

Great Britain and Ireland:

• Justin Rose (c)
• Laurie Canter
• Tommy Fleetwood
• Tyrrell Hatton
• Matthew Jordan
• Tom McKibbin
• Aaron Rai
• Jordan Smith
• Matt Wallace
• Paul Waring

Continental Europe

• Francesco Molinari (c)
• Julien Guerrier (replaced Nicolai Højgaard due to injury)
• Rasmus Højgaard
• Romain Langasque
• Matteo Manassero
• Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen
• Niklas Nørgaard
• Thorbjørn Olesen
• Matthieu Pavon
• Antoine Rozner

Both teams have several players with Ryder Cup experience. These include the captains, Justin Rose and Francesco Molinari, as well as Tommy Fleetwood, Tyrrell Hatton and Thorbjørn Olesen.

The previous edition of the Team Cup, played under the name Hero Cup in 2023, featured six players who went on to play in that year's Ryder Cup at the Marco Simone Golf and Country Club in Rome, Italy. They were Nicolai Højgaard, Sepp Straka, Tommy Fleetwood, Tyrrell Hatton, Shane Lowry and Robert MacIntyre.