Luke Donald Defines the European Team for the Ryder Cup
The European captain, Luke Donald, has completed his 12-player team for the upcoming Ryder Cup, selecting six golfers who were key to the team’s victory two years ago in Rome. Shane Lowry, Jon Rahm, Sepp Straka, Viktor Hovland, Ludvig Åberg, and Matt Fitzpatrick were announced as Donald’s picks for the September 26-28 matches against the United States at Bethpage Black. Donald is betting on familiarity, bringing 11 of the 12 players who won the Ryder Cup for Europe in 2023 to New York. The only notable change is the inclusion of Rasmus Hojgaard instead of his twin brother, Nicolai. Hojgaard is the only rookie on the team, having automatically qualified alongside Rory McIlroy, Tommy Fleetwood, Robert MacIntyre, Justin Rose and Tyrrell Hatton. The last time Europe had only one rookie was in 2012, when Nicolas Colsaerts contributed to a famous comeback on the final day, known as the “Miracle at Medinah”. That was the last time a team won the Ryder Cup as visitors.He continued saying: “Although we have a lot of continuity, playing away from home in America is different. We understand how difficult it is.” Lowry, Straka, Aberg, Hovland, and Fitzpatrick were ranked between 7th and 11th in the European ranking for the Ryder Cup. Matt Wallace, who expressed his sadness at not being selected, could feel unlucky. Instead, Rahm was selected, a two-time major champion, former world number 1, and recent individual champion of LIV Golf for the second consecutive year. The American captain, Keegan Bradley, announced his selections last week, and the most notable news was his own absence. Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa, Cameron Young, Ben Griffin, Sam Burns, and Patrick Cantlay will join Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele, Harris English, Bryson DeChambeau, J.J. Spaun, and Russell Henley on the team. Americans will have four rookies: Spaun, Henley, Young, and Griffin.“Obviously, there’s a lot of continuity with respect to Rome,” Donald commented. “It’s unusual to have so many people returning, but that shows how good these players are.”
Luke Donald
