European Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald is bringing an almost identical team to Bethpage Black – all the way down to the same surnames.
Donald finalized his 12-man roster on Monday with no surprises and even fewer new faces.
Eleven of the 12 players who romped to a blowout victory two years ago in Rome will return for another chance at Ryder Cup glory, with the captain ultimately swapping out one Hojgaard (Nicolai) for another (his twin, Rasmus), after the 24-year-old Dane previously secured one of the six automatic qualifying spots.
And even Rasmus isn’t unfamiliar to the cadence and drama of Ryder Cup week – he was brought in to Donald’s team in 2023 as part of the wider, non-playing staff.
Unlike Keegan Bradley’s captain’s picks, which were the subject of endless conjecture over the past few months, Donald’s choices, comparatively, were far more straightforward.
Donald went down the line Nos. 7-11 on the points standings, bringing back Shane Lowry, Sepp Straka, Ludvig Åberg, Viktor Hovland and Matt Fitzpatrick for another go. Donald strayed further down the standings for his last pick, to No. 24, but for a good reason: two-time major winner Jon Rahm.
“Jon really sets the standard for us,” Donald said. “He understands the history of the Ryder Cup, what it represents. Obviously, he wants to follow in the footsteps of some amazing Spanish players that led the way.”
“It’s going to be special,” added Rahm. “Cannot wait to be at Bethpage, New Yorkers are going to be incredible fans. It’s going to be difficult for us but looking forward to hopefully having a better showing than the last time we did it in the U.S.”
The home team has won eight of the last nine matches in the biennial event, including five in a row.
Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton are eligible to compete in this year’s Ryder Cup while appealing the fines levied against them by the DP World Tour for playing in conflicting events on LIV.
Straka (twice), Åberg and Hovland all won on the PGA Tour this season, while Lowry and Fitzpatrick combined for nine top-10s. Rahm defended his title as the LIV individual champion.
Just missing out on the European team, as he did in 2018, was Englishman Matt Wallace, who was brought to tears Sunday after a close call at the DP World Tour’s European Masters. It’s unclear whether the victory would have been enough for Donald to select Wallace in lieu of a player who was already part of his plans, but the 35-year-old Englishman was nonetheless devastated to miss out on his chance.
The lone newcomer to this year’s squad, Rasmus Hojgaard accrued the majority of his Ryder Cup points late last year after a finishing flourish on the DP World Tour, and he solidified his spot among the top 6 with a clutch performance two weeks ago at the British Masters. He followed it up by tying for second, with Wallace, at last week’s event in Switzerland.
Donald’s six captain’s picks – which went a combined 10-8-4 in Rome – join a veteran squad that already includes Hojgaard, Hatton, Rory McIlroy, Robert MacIntyre, Tommy Fleetwood and Justin Rose.
It’s just the fourth time that the Europeans have had a single rookie on the team, and the first since 2012.
Next week will feature dueling tune-up events of sorts for both Ryder Cup teams. As many as 11 players on the U.S. side are expected to sign up for the PGA Tour’s Procore Championship in Napa, while all but Sepp Straka are on the early commit list for the BMW PGA Championship, the flagship event on the DP World Tour.
The Ryder Cup is Sept. 26-28 in Farmingdale, New York.
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