{"id":272714,"date":"2023-01-15T15:35:33","date_gmt":"2023-01-15T15:35:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/golftoday.co.uk\/francesco-molinari-hails-invaluable-match-play-experience-in-hero-cup-win\/"},"modified":"2023-11-29T18:58:42","modified_gmt":"2023-11-29T18:58:42","slug":"hero-cup-2023-day3-francesco-molinari-hails-invaluable-match-play-experience-in-hero-cup-win","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/golftoday.co.uk\/hero-cup-2023-day3-francesco-molinari-hails-invaluable-match-play-experience-in-hero-cup-win\/","title":{"rendered":"Francesco Molinari hails \u2018invaluable\u2019 match play experience in Hero Cup win"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Hero
Continental Europe Captain Francesco Molinari holds the trophy after his side\u2019s Hero Cup win over Great Britain and Ireland (Kamran Jebreili\/AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Captain Francesco Molinari led from the front as Continental Europe beat favourites Great Britain & Ireland by four points in the Hero Cup.<\/p>\n

Molinari went out first in Sunday\u2019s singles against Shane Lowry and came out on top in a heavyweight battle of former Open champions with a 3&2 victory at Abu Dhabi Golf Club.<\/p>\n

GB&I captain Tommy Fleetwood and Tyrrell Hatton hit back with wins over Thomas Pieters and Antoine Rozner respectively, but victories for Nicolai H\u00f8jgaard \u2013 a late replacement for twin brother Rasmus \u2013 Adrian Meronk, Sepp Straka, Victor Perez and Guido Migliozzi sealed victory by 14\u00bd to 10\u00bd.<\/p>\n

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\"Francesco
Francesco Molinari led Continental Europe to victory (Kamran Jebreili\/AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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The competition effectively fills the gap left by the Seve Trophy, which was held eight times between 2000 and 2013 and gave captaincy experience to future Ryder Cup skippers Colin Montgomerie, Jose Maria Olazabal, Nick Faldo, Paul McGinley and Thomas Bjorn.<\/p>\n

Current Europe captain Luke Donald oversaw the contest and Molinari believes it will have provided valuable experience ahead of September\u2019s bid to regain the trophy in Rome.<\/p>\n

\u201cInvaluable, really, especially for the younger guys,\u201d said Molinari, who partnered Fleetwood to four wins in the 2018 Ryder Cup and also beat Phil Mickelson in the singles for a perfect 5-0 record.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut even for us, to play match play, just get the juices going early this early in the year, it\u2019s a great event. We really enjoy it. The DP World Tour has done a great job at setting it up. Obviously the crowds have enjoyed it as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we played some really good golf all in all, so hopefully we can do it again next year or the year after. It\u2019s been great all week, super happy for the guys. It\u2019s been very, very easy leading them and being a captain for them.\u201d<\/p>\n

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.@AdrianMeronk<\/a> with the putt that secured victory 🏆#HeroCup<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/qqF6GKLvQk<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) January 15, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n