The Ryder Cup of Europe takes Luke Donald again. This time will be different
For the third straight season, Team Europe has named Luke Donald as its Ryder Cup captain, allowing him to pursue something unprecedented in the event’s 100-year history: the same man leading a team to three consecutive victories.
The unanswered question, 18 months after the event, is who will join him? Who will the Americans choose as their captain? And who from LIV Golf will be on the European teams?
Donald has been the favorite for the role, almost since the night he won the 2025 Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black five months ago. It was at that victory press conference that Donald was asked if he might run for a third term. Before he could answer, his group of 12 began to sing, Two more years! Two more years!
Finally, Donald spoke up, saying, “I’ll appreciate my answer tonight.”
He enjoyed that night and several months before he called. He weighed the pros and cons, and said, “what if this doesn’t go well and we’re the first team to lose at home in 34 years, does that taint something?”
That answer is still 17 months away.
Donald has been heralded for his attention to young players, not only empowering his vice-captains to make strategic decisions but also changing the club hotel accommodation last fall. The sheets were not good enough. If there is anything in his decisions as a leader he has felt it a lotthe result has been confirming them. The Europeans beat the Americans in Rome in 2023. They hit it off again on Long Island in 2025. The Americans have been playing escape from the Euros for years. Logically, at least, that is set to continue.
Donald officially took the throne on Wednesday, but has been hanging on to the decision for most of the past month. He will likely bring back members of his backroom staff – such as statistician Edoardo Molinari – for the Cup at Adare Manor. Molinari played a major role in deciding the course setup during the ’23 cup in his native Italy, so much so that some considered him the captain himself. Besides, Donald said he will start mapping out his captaincy supporters in the coming months.
As for his American counterpart, that captain is still unclear. Tiger Woods has been “asked to contribute” for the role, he said, adding that he has not yet made up his mind. For the past few years, Woods has been busy planning the future of the PGA Tour – too busy to devote himself to the many duties of captain. It has left the PGA of America reeling at times, especially in the case of Keegan Bradley, who was elected four months later than usual in 2024. Still, Woods will be considered the favorite for the role at this point, in part because any of the others might be debuting at the position.
It could be Webb Simpson, who has worked with teams before. It could be Brandt Snedeker, who will captain the American Presidents Cup team later this fall. Will Bradley make another run at it? Or is Stewart Cink waiting for this to be his turn? The PGA of America will likely continue to wait for Woods until he makes a decision. Although not very necessary at the moment, each week that passes means one week closer to next year’s Cup.
There is a similar deadline for one of the best players of the European Team, Jon Rahm, who expressed a lot of anger about the DP World Tour, which uses the Ryder Cup Europe. Rahm has been cleared to compete with Team Europe in 2025 amid an appeal against his ban on the European Tour for playing LIV Golf events at the same time as DPWT events. There are many complex details behind that story, but recently, the DPWT announced that eight of its members playing in LIV have reached agreements to add certain DPWT events to their schedule to avoid receiving fines and suspensions. Rahm was not one of those players, and has said he has no intention of reaching a similar deal, jeopardizing his 2027 Ryder Cup availability.
So, how will Donald handle that?
He hopes the 16 or 17 months between now and program selection will provide “plenty of time” to figure it out. Donald has not spoken to Rahm about the matter yet, but he has agreed that he will in the coming weeks. Guy Kinnings, CEO of DPWT, joined Donald at Wednesday’s press conference and was asked about the options Rahm has moved forward with.
“I think it’s pretty straightforward,” Kinnings said. “You know, he just withdraws the appeal and pays the fine or goes through the appeals process, and that process is still ongoing. And then obviously we’ll have to go along with whatever decision is made at the appeal hearing.”
