As the sun set on Bethpage Black on Sunday, Team Europe celebrated their Ryder Cup victory on American soil, successfully defending their 2023 title won in Rome. Despite facing a hostile American crowd, they emerged victorious with almost the same squad as two years ago, with the only change seeing Nicolai Hojgaard replaced by his brother Rasmus.
The rest of Luke Donald’s team included Rory McIlroy, Shane Lowry, Tommy Fleetwood, Justin Rose, Ludvig Aberg, Robert MacIntyre, Matt Fitzpatrick, Sepp Straka, Viktor Hovland, Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton. The latter two, who usually play in LIV Golf events, were only able to participate after appealing against the DP World Tour in a move that could affect their future participation in the Ryder Cup.
Rahm and Hatton are both still contesting fines imposed by the DP World Tour for participating in LIV Golf events. They joined the Saudi-backed tour ahead of the 2024 season.
They are currently in the appeal process, which allowed them to compete in the Ryder Cup. Given the opportunity, they could potentially achieve a three-peat in 2027.
Donald is likely to return as captain and it seems probable he would want Rahm and Hatton on board, given the strong camaraderie within the European ranks.
The DP World Tour also dished out fines and suspensions to the likes of Sergio Garcia, Lee Westwood, and Ian Poulter, who have all previously starred in the Ryder Cup for Team Europe.
“You know as much as I do,” Rahm told reporters when asked about his appeal against the DP World Tour.
“I have no idea. I have no clue. To be fair, I completely forgot about it, which is a good thing. I hope I forget about it until it happens.”
The Spaniard does not want to cough up his hefty fines, convinced his Ryder Cup future remains secure going forward. And he was also in jubilant spirits following Europe’s recent triumph.
Rahm, who produced arguably the shot of the Ryder Cup when he chipped in on the eighth for a spectacular birdie from the rough in the foursomes, praised his skipper after the victory.
“There’s so many things that Luke has done outstandingly, professionally [that are] so perfect that it’s hard to say one [thing],” said Rahm when asked about the impact of Donald.
“Without getting too much into it, the level of professionalism he’s shown us the last four years, his attention to detail and his poise, and his knowledge of the Ryder Cup and the game and what we do on the golf course day-in-and-day-out has made these last two Ryder Cups possible.
“He’s the captain of this ship, and he’s led us better than I can see anybody leading us. He’s set the bar extremely high for future captains.”
