Donald fills out Europe’s Ryder Cup team with familiar names

VIRGINIA WATER, England — Europe captain Luke Donald filled out his 12-man roster for this month’s Ryder Cup with six players who helped the team win back the trophy in Rome two years ago.

Shane Lowry, Jon Rahm, Sepp Straka, Viktor Hovland, Ludvig Åberg and Matt Fitzpatrick were announced Monday as Donald’s picks for the Sept. 26-28 matches against the United States at Bethpage Black.

EUROPEUNITED STATESLudvig Aberg*Sam Burns*Matt Fitzpatrick*Patrick Cantlay*Tommy FleetwoodBryson DeChambeauTyrrell HattonHarris EnglishRasmus HojgaardBen Griffin*Viktor Hovland*Russell HenleyShane Lowry*Collin Morikawa*Robert MacIntyreXander SchauffeleRory McIlroyScottie SchefflerJon Rahm*J.J. SpaunJustin RoseJustin Thomas*Sepp Straka*Cameron Young** – Captain’s pick

Donald will be taking a familiar lineup to New York, returning 11 of the 12 players who won the Ryder Cup for the European team in 2023. Indeed, the only change two years on sees Rasmus Hojgaard play instead of his twin brother, Nicolai.

Hojgaard is the only Ryder Cup rookie, having automatically qualified along with 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 helped deliver a famous last-day comeback in the so-called “Miracle at Medinah.” That’s the last time a team won a Ryder Cup on the road.

“Obviously a lot of continuity from Rome,” Donald said. “That’s unusual to have so many people coming back, but it just shows how good these players are.

“But even though we have a lot of continuity, this is a different animal to play away in America. We understand how difficult that is.”

Sticking to the rankings

Lowry, Straka, Aberg, Hovland and Fitzpatrick placed No. 7-11 on Europe’s Ryder Cup rankings, so No. 12 Matt Wallace — who shed tears Sunday when discussing how much getting picked for the team would mean — might count himself unfortunate to miss out.

Selected instead, however, was Rahm, who is a two-time major champion, a former world No. 1 and was recently crowned as LIV Golf’s individual champion for the second straight year.

U.S. team already announced

U.S. captain Keegan Bradley announced his picks last week and the big news was they didn’t include himself.

Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa, Cameron Young, Ben Griffin, Sam Burns and Patrick Cantlay were picked to join Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele, Harris English, Bryson DeChambeau, J.J. Spaun and Russell Henley on the team.

The Americans will have four rookies: Spaun, Henley, Young and Griffin.