Unless it’s broken. There are still 22 months until the 2025 Ryder Cup, but the countdown is ticking like a prisoner writing his sentence date on the wall of his cell, the count down is on.
It was no surprise that Luke Donald was re-appointed as European captain yesterday, just eight weeks after leading his team to a comfortable victory over the United States in Rome.
On a sunny Sunday in October, at the Marco Simone Club, a wise and affable Englishman lifted a small golden cup, a heartfelt serenade to cheer his players on: “Two more years.” The voice of affirmation resounded loudly.
Calm, cautious, methodical, successful?
No, not this correspondent’s explanation of the looming deadline, but Ryder Cup chief executive Guy Kinnings’ reflection on the generous qualities Donald brings to the table.
He will take them back to New York’s bustling Bethpage Park for a second leg as Europe looks to do something they haven’t done since 2012: win on American soil.
Donald’s reappointment means the European captain selection process has been abandoned. Well, at least for now.
“We made the decision based on the goal of retaining the trophy in 2025. I don’t think it’s worth reading about this anymore,” Kinnings added of this temporary break from the norm.
For some time Europe has had a type of succession known from royal families.
The advent of LIV and the subsequent transfer of many Ryder Cup captain-eligible players to the Saudi-backed series shook things up.
Donald remaining president means no more long interviews and endless boring speculation from the golf media about who will take the job.
Donald becomes the first captain to return to Europe since Bernard Gallacher, who held the role in 1991, 1993 and 1995, and his aim is to become the first captain since Tony Jacklin in 1985 and 1987.
The aim is to achieve home and away wins. For the former world number one, it was an opportunity he couldn’t refuse.
“Even when I lifted the trophy and heard the players shouting, ‘Two more years,’ I thought, ‘I really don’t want to let them down, I might have to do it again,'” his successor, Donald, said. role after Henrik Stenson was effectively fired for joining LIV. “But I still needed time to think.”
“It’s not often in life that you get a great opportunity, and this is a great one.
I love challenges. I don’t think I’ve ever run away from a challenge like this in my personal career. It wasn’t easy for a player of my stature and my playing style to reach number one (in the world), but I was very proud to have achieved it.
“It’s exactly the same as being captain in 2023. We played a strong (U.S.) team and suffered our worst loss ever at Whistling Strait.” I was very happy to find a way to give the team a chance to succeed in Roma. Playing away is completely different. It’s more of a challenge. But it’s exciting to me and that’s why I really want to do it.
“Talking to the players on that Sunday night was the most gratifying thing for me. Just hearing from them, some of the embraces we had and the tears we shared. I think that showed how much it means to all of us.”
There is already fevered talk that Tiger Woods could be Donald’s opposite number in New York. Tiger himself played down all the hoopla the other day and Donald, who beat Woods in the fourballs of that Medinah thriller in 2012, remained coy on the mouthwatering prospect.
“The desire to win, whoever the (US) captain is, is strong,” he said with statesman-like diplomacy. “Obviously, Tiger’s been mentioned as a possible candidate. But we’ll have to wait and see.”
We’ve got a while until crunch time in the Big Apple but Donald’s appointment is an early statement of European intent. Start spreadin’ the news.
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