Javier Ballesteros unhappy with new Hero Cup event on DP World Tour
The Hero Cup was announced by the DP World Tour on Tuesday, which will be a carbon copy of the Seve Trophy which was active from 2000 to 2013.
Javier Ballesteros, the son of the legendary Seve Ballesteros, has spoken out against the new Hero Cup which will begin in January 2023.
The 22-year-old released a statement after the DP World Tour announced a new event which will see players from Great Britain and Ireland face off against players from Continental Europe in Abu Dhabi.
This format and split of nationalities used to be seen at the Seve Trophy which first began in 2000 and was last seen in 2013. It was named after the great Spaniard for his years of service for Europe at the Ryder Cup.
It was played in the years between the Ryder Cup and now, the Hero Cup is intended to get European players acclimatised to match-play golf and intense competition.
However, young Ballesteros said his father "deserves better from the European Tour" and they would like the Seve Trophy back, not an event that mirrors it.
Statement about the “new” match play event announced by The European Tour. #SeveTrophy pic.twitter.com/U201BA6shd
— Javier Ballesteros (@J_Ballesteros1) September 7, 2022
"Last October, an ET (European Tour) player came to me to say that the European Tour was thinking about bringing the Seve Trophy back (I was very happy to hear this)," Ballesteros said on Wednesday.
"I heard nothing more about it until only one day before the announcement was made, when ET contacted me to let me know there was a "new" match play event - being this an exact copy of the Seve Trophy - and wanted my Dad "to be involved in some way."
"We obviously said NO. We don't want anything out of this, but only the Seve Trophy back, not a copy of it.
"We believe our Dad deserves something better from the European Tour, given the unconditional support he always gave to the European Tour and the legacy he left behind."
Ballesteros, who sadly died at the age of 54 in 2011, won 50 times on the old European Tour and picked up two Claret Jugs and three Green Jackets.
He represented Europe on eight occasions at the Ryder Cup and he captained them to victory against America at Valderrama in 1997.
