Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano has questioned the lack of Spanish players in the forthcoming Hero Cup, highlighting the LIV Golf players who have been overlooked.
The Hero Cup will take place over January 13-15. GolfMagic have written an explainer of the new DP World Tour event here.
This week will be seen as a chance for Luke Donald to watch developing European players ahead of the Ryder Cup in September.
Tommy Fleetwood will captain the Great Britain and Ireland team against Francesco Molinari's Continental European side at Abu Dhabi Golf Club in an event which mirrors the old Seve Trophy.
The aforementioned Fernandez-Castano has highlighted the fact that Adrian Otaegui, Adri Arnaus and Pablo Larrazabal have been overlooked, despite ranking higher than some of those selected.
Otaegui won the Valderrama Masters last October. The venue was snatched by LIV Golf and will be a stop in their 2023 schedule.
Otageui is ranked 71 in the world which is much higher than some of those featuring in Molinari's side.
Related: Francesco Molinari addresses reason for his decline
It’s hard to believe there is no Spanish players at this week’s Hero Cup…@DPWorldTour @LukeDonald @F_Molinari @TommyFleetwood1 @RyderCupEurope https://t.co/HrCYh0ABlz
— Gonzalo Fdez-Castaño (@gfcgolf) January 9, 2023
Arnaus won the Catulunya Championship and is seven spots below Otaegui.
Former World No.1 Lee Westwood decided to comment on the post by Fernandez-Castano, writing: "Adrian must be wanting a week off".
Their exclusion could be perceived as a sign that LIV players will not be welcome in the Ryder Cup.
Spanish World No.5 Jon Rahm is skipping this event, although he is guaranteed to be part of Donald's side that take on the U.S. later this year.
Rahm claimed his eighth PGA Tour victory last week then questioned his world ranking.
One Spanish player whose Ryder Cup fate is unknown is Sergio Garcia.
Garcia - who has reportedly left TaylorMade - did not participate in enough DP World Tour events last season to be eligible to qualify.
The 2017 Masters champion accused some of his Ryder Cup team mates of lacking in class.
Perhaps taking a dig at McIlroy, Garcia previously told Marca:
Despite these comments, Matthew Fitzpatrick has backed Garcia for selection.
Related: TaylorMade launch Stealth 2 driver
Who is in the Continental Europe side at the Hero Cup?
Francesco Molinari
Thomas Detry
Nicolai Hojgaard
Adrian Meronk
Guido Migliozzi
Alex Noren
Victor Perez
Thomas Pieters
Sepp Straka
Antoine Rozner
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