Following Europe’s 16 ½-11 ½ victory at this year’s Ryder Cup, officials announced Wednesday they plan to run it back with Luke Donald, who was named the Continent’s first repeat captain since 1995.
Donald was widely praised for his effort at Marco Simone, where the European team rolled to an early lead and never let up. He’s the first back-to-back captain for Europe since Bernard Gallacher led the team for three consecutive matches from 1991 to ’95.
Donald, 45, was a late addition to the job when Henrik Stenson was removed as captain in July 2022 after he joined LIV Golf.
“The Ryder Cup experience for me in 2023 was an amazing one. I really enjoyed the whole journey,” Donald said. “It’s certainly a lot of work, but obviously the culture we created in that team and obviously to see the team bond together and come out on top was very gratifying to me.
“Even when I was lifting the trophy on Sunday and hearing the guys shout, ‘Two more years,’ in the back of my mind, I thought, I don’t really want to let these guys down, but I still wanted some time to think about it.”
Donald participated in four Ryder Cups as a player and contributed 10 ½ points in 15 matches. The Englishman also served as a vice captain in 2018 and ’21.
Donald conceded the unique challenge a Ryder Cup at Bethpage will bring and how the New York fans will add a new level of difficulty for the European side.
“Playing away is a different animal. It’s a bigger challenge. It’s something that excites me and that’s really the reason why I want to do this,” Donald said. “Certainly, that’s part of the challenge. All Ryder Cups are loud and boisterous and New York won’t be any different and maybe even more so. But I played at Bethpage a few times and the New Yorkers love their sport and they love some jostling and all that goes with it.”
The U.S. team has not named who will captain the American side in 2025. On Tuesday at the Hero World Challenge, Tiger Woods was asked his thoughts on possibly captaining the U.S. team at Bethpage and he said there were more important things to focus on, for now.
“Right now there’s too much at stake with our Tour to think about a Ryder Cup,” Woods said. “We have to get this [the framework agreement with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund or some other private equity] done and we have to be focused on this right now. The players and everyone involved understands that this is an issue we need to focus on.”
Both Zach Johnson and Steve Stricker, the last two U.S. Ryder Cup captain, were announced in February the year before the matches.
