'Hard To Believe' No Spaniards In Hero Cup - Multiple DP World Tour Winner

Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano finds it "hard to believe" that there are no Spaniards competing in this week's Hero Cup.

The GB&I vs Continental Europe match-up features 10 players on each side but the European team is without any of the world's top Spanish players.

World No.5 Jon Rahm is skipping the event, just like the other top three Europeans McIlroy, Hovland and Fitzpatrick are, which is not too surprising as all are essentially guaranteed a spot on Team Europe later this year.

The likes of Adrian Otaegui, Adri Arnaus and Pablo Larrazabal have all been overlooked, however.

"It’s hard to believe there is no Spanish players at this week’s Hero Cup," seven-time DP World Tour winner Fernandez-Castano wrote on Twitter, with Lee Westwood commenting: "Adrian must be wanting a week off."

Adrian Otaegui, who plays in LIV Golf and controversially won the Valderrama Masters in October, currently ranks 71st in the world, much higher than some players featuring on the Continental Europe side. 

His omission is likely a signal towards LIV Golf players that even if they are able to qualify for Team Europe, they aren't welcome.

Another Spaniard missing is Adri Arnaus, last year's Catalunya Championship winner who currently ranks 78th in the world, again higher than some members of the Continental Europe team. World No.74 Pablo Larrazabal is also not featuring.

One Spanish player who almost certainly won't be at the Ryder Cup this year is record points scorer Sergio Garcia. The 2017 Masters champion failed to play his minimum requirement of events on the DP World Tour last season and has admitted that he probably won't be featuring at Rome's Marco Simone Golf and Country Club in September.

“I honestly don't know,” Garcia told Marca on if his Ryder Cup options are still zero. “First because I didn't play the minimum number of tournaments last year and I don't think I can qualify. But as I said at the time, I don't know if I want to be part of the team.

“I really want to be there to be me, to be the Sergio who plays the Ryder, who loves and who puts an arm over everyone's shoulder to help.

“And if then you have people there who because you have decided to go to another Tour you are no longer their friend, you are the bad one, you are the one such or that, that has disappointed me and has taught me that really those people who thought they were friends of mine are not.

“Jon [Rahm] is not one of them, but there are others who have shown very little class."

The Continental Europe team at this week's Hero Cup is made up of: Francesco Molinari (playing captain), Thomas Detry, Nicolai Hojgaard, Adrian Meronk, Guido Migliozzi, Alex Noren, Victor Perez, Thomas Pieters, Sepp Straka and Antoine Rozner.

Fernandez-Castano controversially tweeted that "LIV Golf is the best thing that has happened to professional golf since Tiger Woods," recently, explaining the benefits that came from the Saudi-backed series were: "More money to play for & more and different pathways to get to @PGATOUR. Guaranteed earnings for players with full cards as well."

"It’s certainly an opinion," Eddie Pepperell replied, with fellow DP World Tour player Steven Brown joking that Castano was looking for an invite to the Valderrama event coming up on the LIV Golf League schedule this year.