Steve Palmer's free predictions & golf betting tips for the Team Cup

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When to bet on the Team Cup

By 7.05am on Friday

Where can I watch the Team Cup

Live on Sky Sports Main Event and Golf from 7.30am on Friday

Steve Palmer's Team Cup predictions

Tyrrell Hatton top GB & Ireland
3pts 17-4 bet365

Rasmus Hojgaard top Continental
2pts 11-2 bet365, Hills

Continental Europe
1pt 7-4 general

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Steve Palmer's Team Cup preview

The United States get to compete in the Presidents Cup in non-Ryder Cup years, keeping them invested in team matchplay golf and able to try new pairings, so Europe invented the Team Cup in 2023 to provide similarly useful practice.

The key difference between the Presidents Cup and the Team Cup is that Europeans compete against each other – Continentals versus Great Britain & Ireland – but the event gives European Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald a chance to test his potential picks.

Steve Palmer's verdict

Continental Europe 7-4

There is arguably too much of a disparity in the prices between Continental Europe and Great Britain & Ireland, meaning the outsiders represent a spot of value.

GB & Ireland were chalked up as odds-on favourites for the inaugural Team Cup two years ago and lost 14.5-10.5 to Continental Europe. GB and I had a better team for that edition, including Shane Lowry and Robert MacIntyre, so there is no passion for taking the general 4-7 about their 2025 line-up.

Francesco Molinari was a winning captain in the last Team Cup. He may wish to partner with a fellow Italian this time in the shape of Matteo Manassero. That would be a tidy foursomes partnership, but the Danish core of the Continental squad which will probably be the key to their success.

The Hojgaard twins head the team's five Danes. Donald seems likely to request the chance to see the Hojgaards in tandem and they may be a formidable alliance if they join forces again in the Ryder Cup in September.

Thorbjorn Olesen, Niklas Norgaard and Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen are the other highly talented Danes at Molinari's disposal. Romain Langasque and Matthieu Pavon are good friends who seem likely to comprise an all-French duo and the Continentals may have enough to reach the 13-point mark required for victory.

Top Continental

Rasmus Hojgaard 11-2

Rasmus Hojgaard is probably highly motivated for this competition, as he is desperate to make his Ryder Cup debut. He had to watch his brother Nicolai play in the last Ryder Cup, while Rasmus was only at the event as he was Thomas Bjorn's buggy driver.

Rasmus was due to play in the 2023 Team Cup, but got injured and was replaced by his sibling. Nicolai played well at Abu Dhabi GC and went on to bigger and better things, while Rasmus struggled for fitness and form.

Two years later, both Hojgaards are doing well, but Rasmus has been playing at a higher level. He was runner-up to Rory McIlroy in both the DP World Tour Championship and the Race to Dubai Rankings. If he brings that Dubai form to a similar test in Abu Dhabi this week, he can lead the Continental cause and showcase his Ryder Cup claims.

Top GB and Ireland

Tyrrell Hatton 17-4

Tyrrell Hatton is another player for whom the Team Cup is an important event as he does not get many chances to impress Donald. Hatton plies his trade on the LIV circuit and is a controversial choice for Justin Rose's GB side. Expect Hatton to reward the good faith shown in him by taking his A-game to Abu Dhabi.

Hatton is one of only two course winners in the field from the Abu Dhabi Championship. Tommy Fleetwood is the other and the Englishmen may get the chance to tee up in tandem this week. They played together in the morning foursomes of the 2023 event and won their point. Fleetwood played with Lowry in the fourballs, but will need a different Friday partner this time.

With the focus on Ryder Cup practice, Donald probably wants to see a Hatton and Fleetwood pairing as they are by far the most likely members of the GB team to feature in the Ryder Cup. Hatton won the Dunhill Links in October, then was second in the Abu Dhabi Championship, sixth in the DP World Tour Championship and fifth in the Saudi International. He has returned to the Middle East in confident mood.

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Course guide for the Team Cup

• Course Abu Dhabi Golf Resort, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
• Prize money ($125,000 to each member of winning team; $75,000 to each member of losing team)
• Length 7,648 yards
• Par 72 - four par-five hole; ten par-fours; four par-threes
• Field Two teams of ten
• Teams – Continental Europe Francesco Molinari (captain), Nicolai Hojgaard, Rasmus Hojgaard, Romain Langasque, Matteo Manassero, Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen, Niklas Norgaard, Thorbjorn Olesen, Matthieu Pavon, Antoine Rozner; Great Britain & Ireland Justin Rose (captain), Laurie Canter, Tommy Fleetwood, Tyrrell Hatton, Matthew Jordan, Tom McKibbin, Aaron Rai, Jordan Smith, Matt Wallace, Paul Waring
• Highest-ranked players in field (world ranking in brackets) Tommy Fleetwood (9), Tyrrell Hatton (16), Aaron Rai (22), Matthieu Pavon (31), Rasmus Hojgaard (39)
• Format Friday 7.05am Five fourballs matches; Saturday 3.35am Five foursomes matches; 8.20am Five foursomes matches; Sunday 6.35am ten singles
• Course records – 72 holes 264 Martin Kaymer (2011 Abu Dhabi Championship) 18 holes 62 Henrik Stenson (2006), Shane Lowry (2019)
• Course winners taking part Tommy Fleetwood (twice), Tyrrell Hatton
• When to bet By 7.05am on Friday
• When to watch Live on Sky Sports Main Event and Golf from 7.30am on Friday
• Time difference United Arab Emirates is four hours ahead of UK and Ireland
• Course type Parkland
• Course overview Abu Dhabi GC is a long, desert layout, which was traditionally a European Tour birdie-fest from 2006 onwards, with an average winning score of 18 under par from the 16 editions of the Abu Dhabi Championship there. The exposed layout has water in play on nine holes, so any wind significantly adds to the difficulty
• The story of 2023 Francesco Molinari's Continental Europe team beat Tommy Fleetwood's Great Britain and Ireland side 14.5-10.5
• Weather forecast Sunny and warm, with only gentle breezes all three days
• Type of player suited to the challenge Big-hitters have dominated at Abu Dhabi GC in the past – Martin Kaymer, Paul Casey, Rickie Fowler and Tommy Fleetwood have flourished – and open desert layouts lend themselves to aggressive golf. The unusually calm forecast puts more of a premium on putting
• Key attribute Touch/putting

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For those looking for even more extensive golf coverage don't miss Palmer's extra pointers every Wednesday in the Racing Post newspaper.

As well as his tips and insight you will also get expert spotlight comments for all players in our extensive PGA Tour and DP Tour price comparison grids which include course and recent form, plus Palmer's unique attribute icons to help identify the type of players likely to be suited to conditions each week.