The past 12 months had a little of everything — a career Grand Slam, Ryder Cup chaos and so much more. With 2026 on the horizon, our writers look back at the most memorable moments from 2025 and explain why they mattered.
No. 15 — The zero-torque putter movement | No. 14 — ‘Happy Gilmore 2’ takes golf world by storm | No. 13 — Joaquin Niemann’s big 2025 (and crucial 2026) | No. 12 — J.J. Spaun slays Oakmont | No. 11 — The Internet Invitational | No. 10 — Jeeno Thitikul’s record year | No. 9 — Tiger Woods’ next role | No. 8 — Tommy Fleetwood breaks through | No. 7 — The birth of TGL | No. 6 — Keegan Bradley’s big decision
Biggest golf moments of 2025 No. 5: Europe wins another Ryder Cup
The winning Ryder Cup team’s Sunday-evening press conference is always a lively affair — especially so when the Europeans prevail, as they have now in 11 of the last 15 editions, including at the 2025 matches at Bethpage Black, where they were led for a second time by captain Luke Donald.
Early in the Q&A session at Bethpage, a reporter asked no one in particular: “In America, we are under a constant quest of what makes a good captain. We’re still trying to figure it out. What do you think makes Luke such a good leader of men?”
Jon Rahm gave a vague answer about Donald’s professionalism and attention to detail before the reporter asked if anyone else wanted to weigh in.
Donald spoke up first: “Just have a good 12 guys.”
To which Rory McIlroy said: “No, it’s more than that. His communication skills—”
Which prompted Shane Lowry to interrupt: “—let’s not give it away; how about that?”
“I’ll shut up,” McIlroy said with a smile
Thing is, though, the Europeans’ winning formula — both for captain and team — isn’t a secret, at least not anymore. They have cohesion. They have continuity. And they have buy-in that brings the guys together in a way that the Americans have been unable to replicate.
“The badge and the boys,” is how Justin Rose summed up his team’s brotherhood in the wake of Europe’s 15-13 victory. “That’s all that matters, honestly.”
This time around, the cohesion and continuity part required little grease, because Donald had pieced together virtually the same squad he’d captained to victory in Rome in 2023. Of his 12 players at Bethpage, Donald had just one new face: Rasmus Højgaard, who replaced his twin brother Nicolai.
Which isn’t to say Capt. Donald merely hit the rinse-and-repeat button; on the contrary, he employed new tactics both large and small.
He consulted with stats whizzes and sleep experts and the likes of former Premier League chief Richard Scudamore and Rugby Football Union chief executive Ian Ritchie; he swapped out the sheets and shampoo in his team’s hotel rooms so they might rest (and smell!) better; he had his players prepare for the smack-talking New York crowds with virtual-reality headsets; he took his boys to New York nearly two weeks ahead of the matches so they could acclimate to the course and its surrounds while also dial in his pairings. “The most prepared team I’ve ever come across,” former European captain Paul McGinley said.
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Donald explained his prep this way: “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 to 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.”
Earlier this month a handful of former European Ryder Cuppers — Colin Montgomerie, Miguel Angel Jiminez, Bernhard Langer, Darren Clarke, among others — convened at a golf club just west of Tampa, Fla., for the second playing of the Skechers World Champions Cup, a three-team event that pits the best senior players from the U.S, Europe and the rest the world. The tournament had fantasy-camp vibes: the greats of yesteryear coming back together to relive past glories and also make some new memories.
The Europeans looked a little grayer and softer-around-the-middles than they did two or three decades ago, but the joy they exuded from being around one another hadn’t appeared to wane at all. Ditto the respect they so clearly have for one another. All these years they still looked and felt like a team.
When I asked Clarke, the team captain, about that positive energy, he said, “It’s not too difficult to get a really good European team bond. That’s what comes to us. Whenever we used to go play Ryder Cups, one of our mantras on the European side was you park your ego outside on the Monday morning and pick it up on the Monday after the Ryder Cup. This team, we have no egos here. We’re all just trying to help each other and do the best we can do this week.”
If that messaging sounds familiar, it might be because Donald said something very similar on that Sunday evening at Bethpage: “If I come up to [my players] and say, ‘What do you think about this?” They say, “I trust in you, Luke. Let’s go with it.’ Again, that is a nice thing to have. It’s nice to not have those big egos in the team room.”
The same will be true two years from now when the Europeans will try to defend their title at Adare Manor. There’s a good chance Donald will be back for one more captaincy and a better-than-good chance that the core of his team will also remain unchanged.
Why mess with a good thing?
