European Ryder Cup team member Rory Mcllroy of Northern Ireland, Sergio Garcia of Spain and England’s Luke Donald gather together atop of a golf cart to celebrate Europe’s come from behind victory against the Team USA at Medinah at the 2012 Ryder Cup in Medinah, Ill. Sunday, Sept 30, 2012. (Photo/Tom Russo/Daily Reporter)
1 AUGUST, 2022 - SHANK MEDIA, BY MATT HOOPER: LUKE DONALD WAS TODAY UNVEILED AS EUROPEAN RYDER CUP CAPTAIN FOR ROME NEXT YEAR, AS A REPLACEMENT FOR HENRIK STENSON, WHO WAS REMOVED AS CAPTAIN FOLLOWING HIS DECISION TO JOIN LIV GOLF.
I FIND THIS DECISION ILLOGICAL AND SOMEWHAT HYPOCRITICAL, CONSIDERING STENSON IS BEING CRITICISED FOR HIS LACK OF LOYALTY TO THE DP WORLD TOUR AND RYDER CUP EUROPE. IT ALSO MAKES A VOID FOR FUTURE CAPTAINS EVEN MORE DIFFICULT TO FILL BY SELECTING LUKE DONALD FOR ROME 2023.
DONALD'S CREDENTIALS AND WHY I WOULDN'T HAVE SELECTED HIM AS CAPTAIN AT THIS MOMENT
PERSONALLY I THINK LUKE DONALD IS RYDER CUP CAPTAIN MATERIAL, HE HAS GAINED ASSISTANT EXPERIENCE IN RECENT EDITIONS AND HAS PLAYED THROUGH MUCH OF THE GLORY YEARS OF EUROPEAN RYDER CUP GOLF, BEING PART OF WINNING TEAMS IN 2004, 2006, 2010 AND 2012. HOWEVER FIRSTLY I FEEL HE WOULD BE BETTER SUITED TO BEING CAPTAIN ON AMERICAN SOIL, WHERE HE LIVES AND HAS PLAYED THE VAST MAJORITY OF HIS GOLF. OUT OF 505 OFFICIAL WORLD GOLF RANKING EVENTS IN HIS CAREER, DONALD HAS PLAYED JUST 183 COUNTING EVENTS ON THE EUROPEAN TOUR/DP WORLD TOUR, AND WHEN YOU SUBTRACT MAJORS, WORLD GOLF CHAMPIONSHIPS AND OTHER CO-SANCTIONED PGA TOUR EVENTS THAT NUMBER COMES DOWN TO 89 EVENTS.
SO DONALD HAS PLAYED AN AVERAGE OF 3-4 REGULAR EUROPEAN TOUR EVENTS PER SEASON SINCE HIS ROOKIE SEASON AS A PROFESSIONAL IN 2003. THIS DOES NOT AFFECT HIS ABILITY TO BE A GREAT CAPTAIN, BUT STENSON IS BEING PANNED FOR LACKING LOYALTY, AND THIS WAS AN OPPORTUNITY OF APPOINTING SOMEONE WHO IS PASSIONATE ABOUT OUR TOUR.
THE RYDER CUP IS IN DANGER OF BECOMING AN EXHIBITION, OR A FRIENDLY. THE APPOINTMENT OF PAUL LAWRIE OR A EUROPEAN TOUR LOYALIST COULD CERTAINLY HAVE STAVED THAT THREAT OFF. RYDER CUP EUROPE CERTAINLY HAS SOME SERIOUS THINKING TO DO, WITH ALMOST CERTAIN FUTURE CAPTAINS WESTWOOD, GARCIA AND POULTER ALL JOINING LIV AND THEREFORE UNLIKELY TO CAPTAIN THE TEAM. WHO WILL THEY TURN TO? WHO CAN THEY TURN TO? WITH LUKE DONALD JUST 44 YEARS OF AGE, THE APPOINTMENT OF PAUL LAWRIE FOR ROME WOULD HAVE MEANT DONALD COULD HAVE BEEN THE STANDOUT CANDIDATE FOR NEW YORK 2025.
THE OTHER STANDOUT CANDIDATE - PAUL LAWRIE
IN THE WAKE OF HENRIK STENSON'S REMOVAL THIS WAS THE RYDER CUP EUROPE'S OPPORTUNITY TO SELECT A EUROPEAN TOUR LOYALIST, A GOLFER WHO HAS PLAYED HIS ENTIRE CAREER ON OUR TOUR, AND EXPERIENCE THE HIGHS AND LOWS OF THE TWO MOST OUTSTANDING RYDER CUPS OF THE MODERN ERA - BROOKLINE 1999 AND MEDINAH 2012. PAUL LAWRIE MAY WELL NOT HAVE WANTED THE POSITION, SOMETHING I DOUBT, BUT IN ANY CASE THE TOUR SHOULD HAVE GONE FOR HIM OR ANOTHER CANDIDATE WITH A SIMILAR BACKGROUND.
IF THIS IS ABOUT LOYALTY TO EUROPE, THE DP WORLD TOUR AND RYDER CUP EUROPE THEN WHY HAS LUKE DONALD BEEN SELECTED? AS I HAVE OUTLINED ABOVE, HE HAS PLAYED THE VAST MAJORITY OF HIS GOLF ON THE PGA TOUR. THE EDGE WHICH EUROPE HAD IN THE RYDER CUP WAS THE LOYALTY TO THE EUROPEAN TOUR AND EUROPEAN GOLF, BUT THAT IS BEING ERODED MORE QUICKLY BY THE DAY THE CLOSER THE PGA TOUR AND DP WORLD TOUR GET TO EACH OTHER.
I FEAR A GOLDEN ERA FOR EUROPEAN RYDER CUP GOLF IS OVER, AND THE NEXT DECADE COULD BE PAINFUL.
PAUL LAWRIE AT THE SENIOR OPEN PRESENTED BY ROLEX. PHOTO COPYRIGHT MATT HOOPER 2022.
THE LACK OF A SEVE TROPHY, EURASIA CUP OR ROYAL TROPHY HURTS EUROPE
THE SEVE TROPHY AND OTHER TEAM COMPETITIONS FEATURING A EUROPEAN TEAM CERTAINLY AIDED THE EUROPEAN RYDER CUP TEAM IN THEIR MISSION TO WIN THE RYDER CUP. IT WAS A TESTING GROUND FOR PAIRINGS AND FOR THE CAPTAIN HIMSELF, AND WHILST IT WAS NOT THE OVERRIDING REASON FOR EUROPEAN SUCCESS FROM 2002-2018, IT CERTAINLY PLAYED ITS PART.
BEFORE THE SEVE TROPHY LAUNCHED IN 2000 EUROPEAN GOLF HAD THE ALFRED DUNHILL CUP EACH OCTOBER AT THE HOME OF GOLF, ST ANDREWS, AND WHILST PLAYED IN A DIFFERENT FORMAT FROM A RYDER CUP, THE COMPETITION BROUGHT EUROPEAN GOLFERS TOGETHER IN A TEAM FORMAT FOR 16 YEARS.
NOW THERE IS NO OTHER TEAM COMPETITION ON THE DP WORLD TOUR, AND GOING FORWARD THIS IS SOMETHING THE EUROPEAN TOUR GROUP MUST ADDRESS. NOT JUST TO AID THE EUROPEAN RYDER CUP EFFORT, BUT ALSO TO PROVIDE SOMETHING DIFFERENT IN AN OTHERWISE DULL SCHEDULE AS OF 2022.
ROME 2023 COULD BE PAINFUL FOR EUROPE
WITH LEE WESTWOOD, SERGIO GARCIA, IAN POULTER, PAUL CASEY, HENRIK STENSON AND MARTIN KAYMER ALL JOINING LIV GOLF THE EUROPEAN TEAM WILL LIKELY BE MISSING A VAST CORE OF EXPERIENCE HEADING TO ROME NEXT SEPTEMBER. FOLLOWING THE DRUBBING AT WHISTLING STRAITS IT IS CLEAR NEW BLOOD WAS NEEDED, BUT A RYDER CUP, AT RISK OF SOUNDING LIKE ALAN HANSEN, CANNOT BE WON WITH KIDS. EVEN LAST YEAR'S UNITED STATES TEAM HAD A LARGE AMOUNT OF EXPERIENCE, AND WHEN WE LOOK AT THE POSSIBLE 2023 EUROPEAN RYDER CUP TEAM, YOU CAN SEE LUKE DONALD HAS A POSSIBLY UNENVIABLE TASK OF BRINGING THE CUP BACK TO EUROPE.
CURRENTLY, IF YOU TAKE AWAY THE PLAYERS WHO HAVE JOINED LIV GOLF, THESE ARE THE TOP 12 EUROPEANS ACCORDING TO THE OFFICIAL WORLD GOLF RANKINGS:
RORY MCILROY
JON RAHM
VIKTOR HOVLAND
MATT FITZPATRICK
SHANE LOWRY
TOMMY FLEETWOOD
TYRRELL HATTON
THOMAS PIETERS
SEAMUS POWER
JUSTIN ROSE
ALEX NOREN
ADRIAN MERONK
ON FIRST GLANCE THIS LOOKS LIKE A STRONG TEAM, WITH ONLY 2 ROOKIES. BUT THE LIKES OF NOREN, PIETERS AND HOVLAND HAVE ONLY PLAYED IN 1 RYDER CUP, AND WHILST THE OWGR IS JUST A FORM GUIDE, THIS IS SHAPING UP TO BE ONE OF THE MOST OUT OF FORM EUROPEAN RYDER CUP TEAMS IN A VERY LONG TIME, WITH MERONK RANKED 60TH. YES, I HEAR YOU CRY, THE LIKES OF WESTWOOD AND POULTER ARE RANKED EVEN LOWER. BUT THEY HAVE EXPERIENCE, OF BOTH WINNING AND LOSING, AND REACTING TO A DEFEAT, AND SUPPORTING THE CAPTAIN. WITH AN OUT OF FORM TEAM, CERTAINLY IN THE BOTTOM HALF OF THE TEAM, DONALD WILL HAVE TO RELY EVEN MORE HEAVILY UPON RORY MCILROY AND JON RAHM.
AND IT ISN'T AS IF THE ENGLISHMAN CAN EXACTLY CALL UPON THE SERVICES OF A HOME TALENT FROM THE HOST NATION TO INSPIRE PASSIONATE SUPPORT IN ROME, THE HIGHEST RANKED ITALIAN IS FRANCESCO MOLINARI, WHO AFTER A SLUMP FOLLOWING HIS 2018 OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP VICTORY, IS RANKED OUTSIDE THE WORLD'S TOP 150. OF COURSE FORM CAN CHANGE OVER THE PERIOD OF QUALIFICATION, BUT THERE IS NO DOUBT THE ABSENCE OF A SERGIO OR A POULTER TO CALL ON FOR THE EUROPEAN RYDER CUP CAPTAIN COULD BE A HUGE FACTOR WHEN EUROPE AND THE UNITED STATES CONVENE AT MARCO SIMONE COUNTRY CLUB OUTSIDE THE ETERNAL CITY NEXT SEPTEMBER.
