Ryder Cup captain Thomas Bjorn to play Hero Challenge in London

Ryder Cup winning captain Thomas Bjorn and a member of his European team Thorbjorn Olesen will join four others, including Justin Rose, for the Hero Challenge at Canary Wharf on October 9.

The one-hole shootout will be the prelude to the Sky Sports British Masters at Walton Heath Golf Club and hosted by world number two Rose.

Joining Bjorn, Olesen and Rose at Canary Wharf will be English duo Andrew Johnston and Matt Wallace as well as the Irish star Paul Dunne.

In July, Matt Kuchar triumphed at the last Hero Challenge in the historic setting of Edinburgh Castle on the eve of the Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open.

 

Bjorn, who led Team Europe to a stunning 17 - 10 victory at Le Golf National last week, will return to the golf course in a playing capacity for the British Masters and will be making his debut at the Hero Challenge.

"The last week has been an incredible one, and a busy one, after The Ryder Cup but I've enjoyed every minute of it," said Bjorn.

"I'm now looking forward to playing again and the Hero Challenge will be a nice way to ease into the week and have some fun before getting back to the business of competing at the Sky Sports British Masters.

"I'm sure some of that enthusiasm and excitement will feed into the Hero Challenge atmosphere, especially being in such an iconic location, and I hope that we'll be able to put on a show for the fans who attend."

Olesen, 28, contributed one point to Team Europe's winning tally following his 5&4 Sunday Singles victory over Jordan Spieth.

This will be the third successive season in which the British Masters will be preceded by the Hero Challenge, the innovative event having made its debut in 2016 at The Grove, won by Alex Levy, before 2017 tournament host Lee Westwood emerged victorious at Close House.

With the support of Hero MotoCorp, the world's largest manufacturer of motorcycles and scooters, a further three editions were played in 2017, at the Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open, the British Masters and the DP World Tour Championship, Dubai, won by American Patrick Reed, Englishman Lee Westwood and China's Haotong Li respectively.