Ryder Cup players set for Hero Challenge at Canary Wharf

There will be a strong Ryder Cup flavour to the Hero Challenge that will be held at Londons iconic Canary Wharf.

Ryder Cup winning captain Thomas Bjorn returns to action this week and he will lead two of his team members, the host Justin Rose, who is also World No. 2 and FedExCup winner, and fellow Dane Thorbjorn Olesen in the six-man field.

Apart from the three Ryder Cup heroes, the field interestingly also has Matt Wallace, who is having the best season of his career having won three European Tour titles this year, including the Hero Indian Open in India.

At a time when golf is trying to attract new audiences and wean them away from other sports, the European Tour has in the past two seasons managed to get a new group of youngsters into watching and supporting the game.

"While conventional 72-hole stroke play format continues to hold its charm, we must also get new audiences into golf," said Pawan Munjal, Chairman, CEO and Managing Director of Hero group, who is also a keen golfer.

"The one-hour action packed Hero Challenge at iconic venues with star players is what the sport needs. We have had an event at the Edinburgh Castle and now Canary Wharf adds to the charm," he added.

The Hero Challenge will be followed by a high voltage Hero Pro-Am a day later where Justin Rose partners the Irish pop star and close friend, Niall Horan, to raise funds for the former's selected cause Cancer Research UK Kids & Teens on October 10.

Rose, also the 2016 Olympic gold medallist in golf, said: "I'm delighted to again be working with Niall to raise money for Cancer Research UK Kids &Teens, a cause which is very close to my heart."

"Niall loves his golf and helps to bring the game to a different audience, so it's great for him to be able to play in the Hero Pro-Am," he added.

The main event begins on Thursday with the field also including The Open Champion Francesco Molinari, the 2017 Race to Dubai winner Tommy Fleetwood and Matt Fitzpatrick.

--IANS

Krishnaswamy/kk/bg