Pressure is already mounting on Europe’s two-time Ryder Cup winning captain Luke Donald to agree to a third stint in the job for the 2027 home leg in Ireland. Image courtesy Ryder Cup Europe/X.
From a Correspondent
Farmingdale, New York: ”Incredible”, “dedicated”, “amazing”, “the greatest captain that’s ever lived”.
Those were the accolades lauded on two-time captain Luke Donald by Europe’s players as they earned a historic fifth away win at Bethpage Black, two years on from victory in Rome.
While it was by no means the expected procession to victory on Sunday, Donald achieved it, joining Tony Jacklin (1985, 1987) as just the second European captain to win back-to-back victories.
It earned him accolades from losing US captain Keegan Bradley as the best of all time.
“I was going up against an incredible team, and you know, in my eyes, I think he’s the best European Ryder Cup captain of all time,” Bradley said following his team’s 13-15 loss in New York.
“I mean, he won home and away, and he won a Ryder Cup in New York in Bethpage. I think he’s an incredible leader. He’s really quiet, and I think he was able to kind of come out of his shell, I guess, a little in these Ryder Cup years.
“I think he turned this team into a really unstoppable force, especially the first two days, and you know, in my eyes, I think he’s the best European Ryder Cup captain ever.
“I was really excited to go up against him, but I knew it was going to be tough to beat him.
Remarkable feat
“He put his team in the best position to win, and to do that at these two places is a remarkable feat.”
And it is by no means an accident that a Ryder Cup captain as meticulous, prepared and successful as Luke Donald has been praised so highly.
His popularity was so apparent in Rome that calls for ‘two more years’ rang around the greens of Marco Simone, prompting him to return in search of making history and helping to seize Europe’s fifth win on foreign soil by a margin of 15-13.
When asked in his press conference what goes in to being so successful, he was quick to quip “just have a good 12 guys.”
Those ‘guys’ emphatically suggested otherwise, with shouts of two more years and “we’ll see you again in Ireland” from Shane Lowry as he suggested Donald become a three-time captain at Adare Manor.
While he refused to answer the question of if he would, it’s not the first time that had been said throughout this week.
“Luke has set the bar for captaincy so extremely high. What he’s done these four years of being a part of, is absolutely astonishing,” Rahm said following his singles match on Sunday.
“He has been so professional, so dedicated, so incredibly meticulous, and well organised and doing everything that he needs to do and that’s why you’ve seen the two performances you’ve seen from us.
Looking ahead
“He’s the leader of the ship and he’s definitely led us the right way. The only thing left to say from I think all of us is two more years.”
Rahm’s comments are a testament to how much his players admire Donald, respect him, and simply love to play for him.
And the reality is there’s a lot that has gone into Donald’s captaincy which will set the European blueprint for years to come.
He was the first to insist on doing a practice trip, something he did in Rome and repeated in New York.
He embraced statistics with vice-captain Edoardo Molinari, and changed things when he felt it would be meaningful, such as a switch to playing foursomes in the first session in Rome for the first time since 1993.
“I’m going to give a lot of props to Edoardo,” Donald said.
“Edoardo and I sit down and we chat for many, many hours about all the kind of different stats and the pairings and the personalities and the course fits.”
There was the addition of VAR headsets this year to show players what an atmosphere might be like with a New York crowd ahead of the week, and months spent communicating with the players who might feature at Bethpage.
He leaned into a theme that called back to Europe’s four previous away wins in a variety of ways.
From wearing tops from those four away victories on the four practice days, to an inspirational video entitled Our Time, Our Place and those wins centre stage in the team room, the message from players and past captains did the emotive job it was meant to.
Clear focus
“Our theme was we were trying to win for a fifth time away. We talked about it at the beginning of the week. The practice shirts were based off the wins we had already had away: ’87, ’95, ’04, 2012,” Donald said.
“Everything we did was sort of centred around that, and to make the guys feel that we had done it quite often.
“In ten Ryder Cups since ’83, we had won four of them and we had come damn close three other times. This wasn’t an impossible task.
“We knew it was going to be difficult. We wanted to inspire them to know it could be done. My job, again, is to give them the reasons to make them believe that they can win.”
By his own admission, Donald’s Captaincy and its success is really just based on one thing: His utter commitment to it in every possible sense of the meaning.
His thoughts have been consumed by trying to come up with every incremental gain he possibly could to give his team the edge.
This week that meant blocking light from cracked doors, providing the right snacks and changing out the bedding, proving just how detail-oriented he has been in pursuit of victory.
“I really have committed myself to this job because I feel I owe it to the players and I owe it to the Ryder Cup which has been so special to me. I’ve had so many incredible experiences,” Donald added.
“I’ve had to kind of put my own game a little bit to the side, and every day I’m trying to think about things that could help us, come up with different things that might just give us a little edge.
Brutal atmosphere
“We came into this in New York, and we knew New York was not going to be easy. It was rough. It was brutal at times out there. It really was. It was nasty sometimes.
“But I think when you prep these guys enough and you communicate enough with these guys and you give them a plan and an idea and a theme and a motivation, they don’t really need motivating, but you know, the theme causes the cohesion of the team.
“My job is literally to give these guys a better chance to win. It can be as simple as some very small things.
“It’s just taking the time and having the care that you want to do everything you can to kind of give these guys the best opportunity. You want create an environment where they can succeed.
“These are 12 amazing players, we know that. You’re just trying to, again, put them in a position where they feel comfortable.”
And in review, his players heaped on their praise.
“He’s the greatest captain I think that’s ever lived,” said Lowry
“He’s the most amazing man in the world. Honestly, he’s done the best job. Yeah, honestly, I don’t know what to say. Honestly, I’m just — don’t know.”
“We got so lucky in getting an incredible leader in Luke Donald,” added Rory McIlroy.
“He shepherded us through this process and he’s been absolutely amazing. A lot of the credit has to go down to him. Eleven of the 12 players from Rome came back. We did what we needed to do and we are going to celebrate like there’s no tomorrow.”
Another stint as captain may or may not be on the cards for the 2027 Ryder Cup at Adare Manor, but what is clear is that his legacy will forever change how Team Europe do it.
Bethpage facts
From Europe’s fast start and dominance over the foursomes and four-balls to a spirited fightback from the US, here’s a rundown of some standout facts and figures iof Ryder Cup 2025:
• This was the closest Ryder Cup (2 points) since 2012 when European won 14.5 to 13.5 at Medinah. Each of the last five Ryder Cups entering this year were decided by at least 5 points
• Europe have now won five of the last ten away Ryder Cups, dating back to their first in 1987
• Luke Donald becomes just the second European captain to win back-to-back Ryder Cups, joining Tony Jacklin (1985, 1987)
• The seven-point lead Europe held after the first four sessions was the biggest heading into a final day in the modern era
• Europe are the first team to win each of the first four sessions of a Ryder Cup on away soil
• Europe are the first team since 1979 to amass at least 11.5 points prior to singles
• Europe won the cumulative four-ball battle at any given Ryder Cup for the first time since 2010
• In Friday’s foursomes, Europe won each of the first three matches played in a Ryder Cup played on American soil for the first time
• The Americans earned 8.5 points in singles, matching the highest total during the era of 12 singles matches (since 1979)
• Europe won one singles match, the fewest since 1959 when Great Britain managed just one singles win
• McIlroy now has six Ryder Cup wins, one less than the record seven among European players held by Lee Westwood and Sergio Garcia
• Tyrrell Hatton (3-0-1) and Shane Lowry (1–0-2) were the only players without a loss
• Tommy Fleetwood finished the week as the player to have won the most holes with 21
• Scottie Scheffler and McIlroy contested the first Ryder Cup singles match between the number one and two in the Official World Golf Ranking
• Fleetwood and Jon Rahm have now won their first six career Ryder Cup foursomes matches. The only other players to do so are Sergio Garcia (8) and Luke Donald (6)
• Scheffler became the first American player ever to lose a match in each of the first four sessions of a Ryder Cup. (courtesy rydercup.com)
Also read: Europe complete fairytale win as stunning US fightback falls short
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