Luke Donald acknowledges the “very unusual” scenario of having 11 members from his triumphant 2023 Ryder Cup team returning to defend Team Europe’s title at Bethpage, yet he’s confident this will play to their advantage.
The European squad is marked by an extraordinary level of consistency, with Denmark’s Rasmus Hojgaard being the sole newcomer on Donald’s 12-man team, stepping in for his twin brother Nicolai, who contributed to Europe’s victory in Rome. The remaining 11 players are veterans of the Marco Simone Golf and Country Club triumph, which saw the Europeans secure a decisive win.
With Donald at the helm once more as captain, the European team is banking on continuity as its strategy. The competition tees off at Bethpage Black on Sep. 26, with Donald having revealed his captain’s selections on Monday, including Jon Rahm, Ludvig Aberg, and Shane Lowry.
Former world No. 1 Donald expressed his astonishment at the retention of the core group from his team, especially when contrasted with the American side that will see only six returnees from Rome.
When queried if he ever imagined such consistency within the team, Donald responded: “No, absolutely not.”
He added: “I think history would be against that. There’s no time in the past where you even come close to that, maybe nine out of the 12 players might have played consecutive Ryder Cups. Very unusual.
“I think there’s a lot of benefits to it, obviously, the continuity. I think the players understand how I work. I feel like I’ve gained enough of their trust over this last two or three-year period.
“We’ll certainly draw from some of those experiences that we were able to be so good for what we experienced in Rome, but as I said Monday with the pick show, this is a different Ryder Cup.”
Yet, Donald is not about to replicate his previous tactics exactly. He’s aware that facing Keegan Bradley’s American squad on their home turf will pose unique hurdles. He added: “It’s a different challenge. It’s certainly a little bit of a goal of mine, not knowing that there was going to be 11 of 12, but to create something unique again.
“I don’t want to just bring everything that I brought to Rome and do the same things. Obviously, there are lots of things that I felt like worked very well, and those will be implemented again, but there are new things to look at and new challenges and new strategies.
“Again, hopefully it’s still a Ryder Cup with different themes, different motivations for the players, and yeah, different strategies for success.”
