Luke Donald fires warning about President Trump’s Ryder Cup plans
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What will already be a raucous Ryder Cup could be even more hostile with Donald Trump due at Bethpage on the opening day.
Luke Donald says he and his team “will be ready” for the presence of Donald Trump on the opening day of the Ryder Cup but he hopes lessons have been learned after the President’s appearance at the US Open tennis caused chaotic scenes and delays.
Speaking ahead of the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth, where he’s twice a winner, the Englishman urged the PGA of America to ensure similar scenes don’t unfold in New York.
“We don’t know the details yet,” Donald said. “I think the tours are talking about it with the PGA of America to get more information. I guess he will want to be on the first tee. Again, we understand that he’s coming and both teams will be ready for that.
“There were some delays at the tennis, but hopefully [the PGA of America] have learnt from that. It’s a big process, obviously, to get a president to come to an event. There’s a lot of security and everything. It takes some work, I’m sure. The PGA of America’s job is to make sure it’s seamless.”
Donald said he expects the crowds to be loud and passionate regardless of the Presidents presence, and gave some insight into how his team and the authorities plan to handle things to ensure things don’t cross the line.
“We will have a unified approach amongst the players, the caddies, the wives, everything.
“We’ve been told by the PGA of America that a strong amount of police are going to be there. They have their protocols in place, too. [We’ve had] a lot of conversations over the last six months, and they have assured me that it’s going to run smoothly.”
Luke Donald ready for Bethpage cauldron
While, on paper, many things remain the same for Team Europe after Donald led them to a comprehensive win in Rome in 2023, the captain admits he’s substantially altered his own thinking for his second stint.
“I think this is a different challenge,” the 47-year-old said. “Some of our advantages from Rome are certainly not advantages anymore. A lot of my thinking revolves around crowd management and how we react as a team.
“But also, I try to approach this in a little bit of a different way in terms of communication among the players. You know, instead of just wait until the team is formed, and then sort of get my messaging across, that process started 15 months ago.”
Donald will also lean heavily on Rory McIlroy and Justin Rose as players, like him, who’ve experienced the cauldron of away matches on multiple occasions.
“Their experience is important and the experience of our vice-captains having gone through that and experienced it myself. Obviously good experiences from my standpoint, 2004 we won quite easily and 2012 was the comeback,” he smiled.
“I certainly enjoyed playing in an away Ryder Cup. In a way, you’ve got a little bit less pressure. The home team is meant to win, so I don’t mind that. As long as you’re prepared for getting a little bit of stick from the fans, I think that’s OK. I think everyone deals with it differently and individually. For me it was quite motivating to go in knowing that we weren’t expected to win, and it fueled me to play well.”
Europe will get their first taste of Bethpage with a two-day scouting and strategy mission next week, with Donald and his troops flying straight to New York after the final putt drops at Wentworth on Sunday night.
Of the 12 players, only Sepp Straka isn’t in the field this week, understandably opting to stay at home following the premature birth of his child. But Donald, the rest of the team, their wives, partners and caddies gathered for a relaxed meal in Surrey on Tuesday night. The players have also been grouped together across the tee times for the opening two rounds.
While Straka isn’t teeing it up in the DP World Tour’s flagship event, the Austrian will join his teammates in New York next week where they’ll play nine holes on Monday followed by 18 on Tuesday, with a visit into the heart of the Big Apple planned in-between.
“We’ll go into the city for a fun dinner Tuesday night, because we don’t get to go into the city during the week of the Ryder Cup. It’s obviously on the doorstep, but it’s just far enough away and so busy that week. It’s nice to experience where we are, that New York kind of vibe.”
While the captain hasn’t demanded his players stay in New York following next week’s gathering, he has set one strict rule on their whereabouts ahead of the biennial clash.
“Some people are sticking together up in New York. Some people are going to work with their coaches. Some people are going home. It’s not all 12 together doing the same thing. I think it’s important; they are together a lot this week. If you are all together next week and the week after, maybe that’s a little overkill.
“As long as they are not flying back to Europe and having to deal with jet-lag, I don’t really mind what they do.”
Luke Donald on changing tactics from Rome
Donald also admitted that despite having 11 of the same players he had in Rome, his thinking about how he’ll use them has substantially changed, especially when it comes to the team’s sole Scotsman, Robert MacIntyre.
“It’s two years since Rome, and so excited about the continuity and having a team that is very similar to Rome. I think that’s a massive benefit for us,” the captain said. “But players change. Just, again, I’ve said this before, look at someone like Bob. He’s become a much better player in the last two years. I didn’t see him as an option for foursomes but potentially he is this time around because of the way he plays the game now.
“Again, you have to always consider sort of those things that not everyone is playing the same. People shift whether you are a good driver or approach player or a putter. Those things move around in your career, and so you adapt to that.”
Europe will also have to adapt to a very different course set up from the one they faced in Rome with vice-captain Edoardo Molinari reporting very little rough.
“They have had three weeks since he was there, so they could grow it a little bit, Donald said. “But again, I expect the course to be set up with minimal rough, fast greens, and we’ll get a little bit of a sense on Monday and Tuesday how the course is playing.
“It’s always up to the home team how they set that up. So we might get there with greens at nine on the Stimpmeter. Who knows? That’s their prerogative.”
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Luke Donald spoke about President Donald Trump's potential Ryder Cup visit at Bethpage.
