Revealed: Hero Cup day one pairings

The Hero Cup is almost upon us – and the pairings for the first set of matches have been revealed.

The best of Great Britain and Ireland will face their continental counterparts in five fourball encounters in Abu Dhabi on Friday.

Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre and Ewen Ferguson have been paired with Seamus Power and Richard Mansell respectively.

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MacIntyre and Power will face Sepp Straka and Adrian Meronk, while Ferguson and Mansell will take on continental captain Francesco Molinari and Nicolai Hojgaard – drafted in as a late replacement for his injured twin Rasmus.

Meanwhile GB&I skipper Tommy Fleetwood and Shane Lowry take on Thomas Pieters and Alex Noren.

Tyrrell Hatton and Jordan Smith go up against Thomas Detry and Antoine Rozner, while Callum Shinkwin and Matt Wallace face Victor Perez and Guido Migliozzi.

The Ryder Cup warm-up event kicks off with one fourball session on Friday.

Saturday brings two rounds of foursomes matches, and the event concludes with Sunday’s singles encounters.

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Designed to give players a taste of the team environment they could experience at the Ryder Cup in Rome later this year, it includes 20 of the hopefuls who will be vying for a place on Luke Donald’s team to take on the US.

Donald himself will be overseeing proceedings from inside the ropes as he bids to build a side to reclaim the title following 2021’s record defeat at Whistling Straits.

Hero Cup day one matches

Thomas Pieters/Alex Noren vs Tommy Fleetwood/Shane Lowry

Thomas Detry/Antoine Rozner vs Tyrrell Hatton/Jordan Smith

Victor Perez/Guido Migliozzi vs Callum Shinkwin/Matt Wallace

Francesco Molinari/Nicolai Hojgaard vs Ewen Ferguson/Richard Mansell

Sepp Straka/Adrian Meronk vs Seamus Power/Robert MacIntyre