After a successful run in the 2023 season, the DP World Tour is back with the Team Cup, previously known as the Hero Cup. But is it exactly that? The European Tour offers a chance for its golfers to have a Ryder Cup experience before facing the Americans and battling out against fellow European pros.

Since last year, Team Great Britain and Ireland have gone against Team Continental Europe, each consisting of ten golfers from the respective areas. It is reminiscent of the iconic Seve Trophy, which ran from 2000 to 2013 and was discontinued after that. The DP World started the event again in the hopes of attracting better talent and making it easy for the Ryder Cup captain to choose his picks.

Now what do Francesco Molinari and Justin Rose have to do with it? Well, both have been announced as captains and with this announcement, Francesco will be reclaiming the captain’s hat for the Continental Team. Last year, he assisted Team Europe to a victory in addition to Team Europe’s win in the Ryder Cup which was led by Luke Donald. Justin Rose will replace the 2023 GB&I captain, Tommy Fleetwood. The event will be held at Abu Dhabi Golf Resort in the United Arab Emirates from January 10th to January 12th, 2025.

Last year, players like Robert MacIntyre, Nicolai Hojgaard, Tyrrell Hatton, Sepp Straka, and many others were part of the two teams. It remains to be seen who will make it to the 2025 edition, but the selection criteria are out for the event.

How will players be selected for the Team Cup, and what will be the format?

As said, Justin Rose and Francesco Molinari will be the playing captains for their teams, Continental Europe and the Great Britain and Ireland teams, respectively. That leaves nine golfers still to be added to each team. Just like last year, the captains will be allowed the opportunity to choose five trending golfers to add to their team in consultation with Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald.

What about the four left spots? Well, that would be filled with the Race to Dubai standings. The four available leading players in the standings will automatically make the Team Cup teams. These 20 golfers will play for three days: one session of foursomes, one of fourballs, and one of singles.

Interestingly, all 20 players will be taking part in each session held at Abu Dhabi Golf Resort, unlike the Ryder Cup, where only a few are allowed to take part in fourball and foursomes sessions. In 2023, each member of the winning team received $125,000, whereas the losing team members of the GB&I team got $75,000 each. A similar prize purse will be on display, along with a prestigious trophy. There are still four months for the European pros to play well, make it to the Team Cups, and get warmed up for the 2025 Ryder Cup in Bethpage.