Major stars complete AD Hero Challenge field

Major winners Louis Oosthuizen and Danny Willett and rising star Viktor Hovland complete a world-class line up as the Hero Challenge arrives in Abu Dhabi for the first time, ahead of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship presented by EGA.

They will join World Number One Brooks Koepka and European Tour stars Bernd Wiesberger and Matthew Fitzpatrick for the innovative shootout event at the iconic Yas Marina Circuit on Tuesday.

Hero MotoCorp, the world’s largest manufacturer of motorcycles and scooters, recently extended the Hero Challenge on the European Tour until 2022, with the number of annual events increasing from three to a series of five.

The Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship presented by EGA hosts the first of 2020, with the series culminating in a final event featuring the previous four winners.

South African Oosthuizen boasts the 2010 Open Championship amongst his nine European Tour titles and will make his Hero Challenge debut as 5,000 fans watch six of golf’s biggest stars battle it out for the title in the exciting head-to-head format.

He said: “The Hero Challenge looks like a lot of fun, and especially this time round as we’ll be playing in such a cool location in Yas Marina. I can definitely say that it will be a first for me to play golf at a Formula One track and I’m looking forward to going up against the guys in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday.”

Englishman Willett returns to the Hero Challenge after coming close to getting his hands on the trophy in the final edition of the 2019 season in Dubai last November. The 2016 Masters champion will arrive in Abu Dhabi looking to continue the form that saw him secure his seventh European Tour title - and his second on the Rolex Series - at last season’s BMW PGA Championship.

Hovland is one of golf’s most promising young stars, and the 22 year old Norwegian will join Oosthuizen and Koepka in making his Hero Challenge debut at the Yas Marina Circuit next week. The former World Amateur Number One won the low amateur honours at both the Masters and the US Open in 2019, before impressing on his first professional start on the European Tour with a tied 11th place finish at Wentworth.

 The Hero Challenge will be hosted by Vernon Kay and Iona Stephen under floodlights at Yas Marina Circuit and will be broadcast LIVE around the world with music and entertainment acts adding drama to the show. Doors will open to spectators from 5.30pm local time.

After the opening event in Abu Dhabi, the Hero Challenge then moves to Europe for three more exciting editions, including the Scandinavian Mixed Hosted by Henrik and Annika in Stockholm, the Betfred British Masters, to be hosted by Lee Westwood at Close House in England, and the Porsche European Open in Hamburg. The series finale will take place ahead of the European Tour’s season-ending event in Dubai and will feature the winners of all four Hero Challenges from the 2020 campaign.