Hero Cup: Continental Europe earn 14.5-10.5 victory over Great Britain and Ireland in new team event | Golf News

Francesco Molinari served as a playing captain in Continental Europe’s victory over Tommy Fleetwood’s Great Britain and Ireland team; Adrian Meronk claimed the winning point in the three-day team contest in Abu Dhabi

Victor Perez was among the Continental Europe players to win their singles matches on Sunday

Continental Europe impressed in the Sunday singles to earn a 14.5-10.5 over Great Britain and Ireland at the inaugural Hero Cup in Abu Dhabi.

Francesco Molinari’s side held a two-point advantage at Abu Dhabi Golf Club heading into the final day of the three-day contest, introduced with the intention of giving players more team experience ahead of potential future appearances in Europe’s Ryder Cup team.

Molinari secured the opening point of the Sunday singles when he defeated Shane Lowry 3&2, with Continental Europe winning six of the 10 matches during the final day to run out deserved winners.

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Luke Donald has praised the Hero Cup sessions as an ‘invaluable’ experience as he prepares for the Ryder Cup.

“It’s amazing – I can finally relax,” Molinari said. “I’m super happy for the guys. It’s been very easy leading them and being a captain for them. I think we found some great pairings and it has been a great week to start the year.

“It made my job a lot easier because I didn’t have to tinker and change too much. It’s a great event, we really enjoyed it, the DP World Tour has done a great job of setting up. I think we played some really great golf overall.”

More to follow…