With self-observed characteristic traits somewhere between those of Bernhard Langer and Jose Maria Olazabal, marrying the need for extensive detail with being reserved, Luke Donald – originally second choice to Henrik Stenson – has been brought on board as Europe’s captain for the Ryder Cup match against the United States in Rome next year, almost cast in the role of white knight for the cause.
Stenson’s defection to LIV Golf’s money brought with it embarrassment to the European Tour and, in coming to the rescue to some extent, Donald – a winning player in four Ryder Cups, including the so-called Miracle at Medinah in 2012, and a vice-captain in Paris in 2018 and again in Whistling Straits last year – has put pen to paper in guaranteeing he will be sticking in the captaincy role with no degree of temptation to lure him to the dark side.
“I have signed a contract and I intend to see that through. I’m giving my word that I will be here for the next 14 months. I’m excited about this opportunity, I really am. The Ryder Cup means so much to me and I’m not going to take this lightly,” said the 44-year-old Englishman, who spent a career total of 56 weeks as world number one.
In assuming the captaincy, in what Europe’s Ryder Cup director Guy Kinnings accepted were “unique and unprecedented” circumstances, Donald has just 14 months to get the job done with his team’s qualifying process still to start (it is expected to kick belatedly into gear at the BMW PGA Championship in Wentworth next month). But he has sought to retain some stability by reappointing Thomas Bjorn and Edoardo Molinari, who were to be part of Stenson’s back room, to his own team.
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Even before his captaincy was confirmed, the whispers had been out and a number of players – among them Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm – expected to be key figures for the match at Marco Simone Golf and Country Club in Rome from September 25th-October 1st 2023 – had reached out to congratulate him.
Donald played under four captains and served with two and his initial observations were that he would fall “somewhere between a Langer and an Olazabal,” adding: “I think I’m a detail-oriented person. I like to figure things out in my head without blurting them out. Jose was more of a quiet leader, and I think that will be my stance. That’s my characteristics, between those two. I’m guessing I’ll be on the phone to both of them and getting some ideas for my captaincy.”
The arrival of the start-up LIV Golf Series and how it has enticed a number of potential European team members away – among them Ian Poulter, Sergio Garcia and Lee Westwood, along of course with the original captain Stenson – has also brought legal matters into the equation on whether or not they will remain eligible to play in Rome.
As Donald put it, “there’s a legal situation going on ... I can’t really comment on it because there’s no real answer.”
Kinnings, however, elaborated to admit those players remain entitled to play but with an asterisk of a kind beside them: “There are legal appeals ongoing and until such time [that there is a resolution] the players are entitled to play ... I suspect [when qualifying starts] it will be much as they are with the PGA of America, listing players that are mentioned but subject to eligibility.
Donald revealed he had been approached by LIV to act as part of its broadcast team but not as one of the players to be signed up. He rejected their approaches.
And, of coming in as second choice with Stenson jumping ship, he said; “I was disappointed I didn’t get the nod back in March, but sometimes we’re given second chances, and I’m thoroughly looking forward to making the most of it.”
Meanwhile, after a two-weeks break, Shane Lowry returns to competitive duty at this week’s Wyndham Championship in Greensboro, North Carolina as the Offalyman seeks to strengthen his position in the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup standings with an eye on making it all the way to the Tour Championship at East Lake later this month.
On the DP World Tour, there are four Irish players in the field for the Cazoo Open at Celtic Manor where Jonny Caldwell, Paul Dunne, Niall Kearney and Cormac Sharvin are in need of valuable Race to Dubai points.
