VIRGINIA WATER, England (AP) — European players chanted, “Two more years!” when they won the Ryder Cup in New York, and Luke Donald listened. He was named captain on Wednesday for the 2027 matches in Ireland, making him the first captain in 30 years to lead in three straight Ryder Cups.
At stake for Donald is a chance to become the first Ryder Cup captain with three straight victories.
“The last two Ryder Cups have meant a lot to me and my family,"
Donald said. "I didn’t imagine this third time would come. Celebrating on that Sunday night in New York after a pressure-packed week in a tough environment, I thought maybe my job was done.
“But maybe there is a little more story to tell.”
Donald, a former world No. 1 from England, was never meant to be captain in the first place. He seemingly lost out when Europe chose Henrik Stenson to be captain for the 2023 matches outside Rome. But then Stenson gave up the job when he joined Saudi-backed LIV Golf, and Donald stepped in and hasn't missed a beat.
Donald led Europe to a resounding victory in 2023, and then last September at Bethpage Black led his team to a seven-point lead going into Sunday singles. It held on to win while coping with a hostile New York crowd.
That prompted U.S. captain Keegan Bradley to say, “I think he’s the best European Ryder Cup captain of all time, Luke Donald."
The 2027 matches — the 100th anniversary of the Ryder Cup — will be at Adare Manor in Ireland. Europe has not lost on home soil since 1993.
Now it's up to the Americans to decide who will go up against Donald. Tiger Woods again is the top choice to lead Team USA. Woods turned down the job last time, leading to Bradley being appointed just 14 months before the matches.
Woods has said he hasn't decided whether he has the time to do the job justice. He currently is leading an overhaul of the PGA Tour model. The Associated Press reported last week the PGA of America has encouraged Woods to decide within the month.
Bernhard Gallacher from 1991 through 1995 was the last captain to serve three straight times, winning his last one at Oak Hill.
Donald was seen as an obvious choice for 2027, part of that a product of LIV Golf because of other potential captains — Ian Poulter, Lee Westwood, Graeme McDowell — who are with LIV. Justin Rose had said at the start of the year he was more interested in playing for the 2027 team. Francesco Molinari was viewed as another option.
“History is obviously important to me. As a team, as Ryder Cup Europe, we all play for history," the 48-year-old Donald said. "We talk about it a lot, about the guys who paved the way for us and the responsibility we have to inspire next generations. But I don’t think I have ever thought about history through a personal lens. I just try to enjoy the journey and the day-to-day work to create an environment that gives the players the opportunity for success. That is what I focus on.”
Walter Hagen was a winning captain four times for the Americans, while Ben Hogan led the U.S. team to three victories, though neither was in successive matches and those occurred in an era of U.S. dominance before Europe was part of the Ryder Cup.
Tony Jacklin was European captain three times, and his players left with the gold trophy all three times. The last one in 1989 was a tie, and Europe retained the Ryder Cup as the defending champion. At stake for Donald is the first to win outright three straight times.
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