“WE are about to do a job in, err, Italy. It’s a very difficult job and the only way to get through it is we all work together as a team.” Recognise the words? They were spoken by Charlie Croker, a kind of non-playing captain in 1969’s Italian Job – an Englishman charged with leading a team of individuals into battle against a mighty foe in an iconic European city.
Over half a century later Luke Donald has a similar task on his hands. For the Italian mafia read Team USA, for Turin read Rome, for a van-load of gold bullion read the Ryder Cup, and for the dress rehearsal that featured the words “You were only supposed to blow the bloody doors off” read this week’s Hero Cup at Abu Dhabi GC.
Donald – at least as far as we know – doesn’t have a fleet of Mini Coopers for the two teams to practice in, but when he assumed leadership of Europe’s quest to regain the Ryder Cup it was notable that he wasted no time adding brainbox Edoardo Molinari to his backroom team (his Benny Hill/Professor Peach) and reviving this Great Britain & Ireland versus Continental Europe warm-up.
It was originally played as the Seve Trophy (between 2000 and 2013) and, as a viewing experience, was something of a damp squib. The 2005 edition, for example, was played in appalling conditions, at a little-known course, in front of a few hardy fans and it came across as a very unlikely breeding ground for future stars of the clash with America’s finest. But, in the wake of the 19-9 drubbing at Whistling Straits in 2021, the head honchos decreed that Europe needed to go back to basics and they liked this match-up – the perception is that it aided Europe’s phenomenal success in the first two decades of the 21st century.
Introducing Team Continental Europe 👊#HeroCup pic.twitter.com/pUPhnl0MAw
— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) January 10, 2023
What cannot be denied is that, even if LIV Golf had not intervened and made the participation of many of Europe’s Ryder Cup superstars highly unlikely, that generation was, in any case, running out of gas. Put simply, the continent needs its thirtysomethings to step up and the twentysomethings to announce themselves – this week provides a stage for them to start doing just that.
Donald will be keeping a sharp eye on the two line-ups. He’ll want to see leadership from Tommy Fleetwood and Francesco Molinari (the two official captains), but also from Tyrrell Hatton, Shane Lowry, Alex Noren and Thomas Pieters. He’ll hope the US-based Seamus Power and Sepp Straka integrate well, and that the likes of Robert MacIntyre and Nicolai Hojgaard add to their growing reputations.
Will Lowry and Power be paired together? It seems, at first glance, like a very good option but beware that all-Irish pairings have an oddly appalling record in the Ryder Cup (just 4.5 points from 14 matches). Intriguingly, there is no Spanish involvement this week which bodes ill for Europe. Jon Rahm will be in Rome but a compatriot alongside him would be a considerable bonus because all-Spanish teams, in huge contrast to the Irish, have a superb log book (25.5 points from 35 matches). Unless Adri Arnaus finds something in the next few months Rahm will be flying the Spanish flag on his own in September and he has performed to national type in his first two Ryder Cups: three matches and three wins with a compatriot; three matches, one half and two defeats with everyone else. There’s an element of small sample size about those figures, but it’s quite possible it’s not entirely a fluke.
This week’s match and late summer’s Ryder Cup are not the only team events this year – the Solheim Cup travels to Spain. Let’s take a quick look at the trans-Atlantic tussles ahead of concentrating on this week’s match in the Middle East.
The Solheim Cup
A first visit for the match to Spain and the long and mountainous fairways of Finca Cortesin. Europe has gained dominance in recent years winning four of the last six matches and each of the last two. Suzann Pettersen leads a team that will be bolstered by the arrival of the impressive Swedes Linn Grant and Maja Stark. American journalists believe the European are favourites, the books cannot make up their minds. The match takes place a week before the Ryder Cup – is that a good or a bad thing? Hopefully a good one.
The Ryder Cup
No confusion for the compilers: it’s a case of American Hot in the land of pizza. The visitors will need to defy recent history, however. The last Team USA triumph on European soil was way back in 1993 since when they have been on a Ryder Cup road trip of misery, taking in Spain, England, Ireland, Wales, Scotland and France. Like pilgrims of old will their find redemption in Rome? Or will they be fed to the lions? If you fancy the home team, Unibet is offering industry best price of 19/10.
The Hero Cup
What of this week? Most punters will be keen to take a close look at the top scorer markets but there’s a glitch that really does scream “You were only supposed to blow the bloody doors off” – the exact format was a mystery for longer than seems entirely necessary. The venue is good news for Fleetwood and Lowry who are both past winners on it and GB&I won six of the eight Seve Trophies. But, if absolutely pushed, I’d argue these two teams are as evenly balanced as a bus dangling over the edge of a mountain drop with bullion one end of it and frightened criminals at the other. The books disagree and favour GB&I so my idea would be to back Continental Europe. Or would it be too neat if, like the bus, it ended in stale mate (a tie)?
