[PHOTO: Vaughn Ridley]
After his second straight Ryder Cup triumph last month, Luke Donald was greeted with chants for “two more years”. The Englishman debuted as European captain in 2023 with a home victory at Marco Simone in Rome, and then engineered the team’s first win in the United States in 13 years at Bethpage two weeks ago.
Indeed, as Donald is being mentioned in the conversation of Europe’s greatest Ryder Cup captains, his tenure may not be over just yet. It’s certainly, a nice predicament to be in.
“Yeah, it’s pretty humbling when someone says you’re the greatest captain,” Donald said on Tuesday at the DP World India Championship. “Maybe it’s a little bit of a reaction in the present moment. I’ve given a lot to it. I’m very happy with the results that came with it, but you need those 12 players. You need the back-room teams. You need the vice-captains. You need so many others to make that happen.”
At Bethpage, Donald, the former world No.1, responded to those chants in the galleries by joking that, “I don’t know if my heart can take two more years.” But he also added at the time, “We’ll see.”
Rory McIlroy douses Luke Donald with champagne after Europe’s 15-13 victory at the 2025 Ryder Cup. [Photo: Andrew Redington]
A journey from his Florida base to India for this week’s DP World Tour event at Delhi Golf Club has at least given Donald time and distance to consider coming back for a third captaincy. Naturally, Donald, 47, was asked point blank if he would be there at the 2027 Ryder Cup at Adare Manor, just outside the Irish city of Limerick.
Donald didn’t exactly slam the door shut, yet he didn’t leave it wide open, either.
“Well, I’m trying to still enjoy this one,” Donald said. “Whether it be a captain or whether I’m not a captain… if I’m not a captain in two years’ time and the captain wants me to be there, then I’m sure I would be happy to help him in any way he wanted.”
Donald was also quizzed about Rory McIlroy as a future captain, knowing that the Northern Irishman will still be in his prime years in 2027. Specifically, what qualities the five-time major winner possesses that would make McIlroy a good European skipper.
“Well, just the fact that he loves the Ryder Cup more than anything,” Donald said of the reigning Masters champion, who went 3-1-1 at Bethpage amid a barrage of fan abuse. “He made it quite evident that winning an away Ryder Cup would really be the icing on an amazing year that he had this year.
“He loves what it represents. You’ve seen the emotion from losing to winning. Anyone that has that passion for a Ryder Cup I think would make a good captain.”
Donald joins McIlroy, Tommy Fleetwood, Shane Lowry and Viktor Hovland as European Ryder Cup team members who are teeing it up in India.
