Luke Donald reveals Ryder Cup strategy to tackle Bethpage – and it could rule out some big names

Luke Donald masterminded one of Europe’s greatest Ryder Cup wins in Rome – but pulling off back-to-back victories, this time on American soil, would put him firmly in the history books. Here’s how he plans to defy the odds at Bethpage.

Being a Ryder Cup captain isn’t easy. You have the hopes of a nation – or, in Europe’s case, a continent – riding on your shoulders. Two years of work is judged on three days of golf – during which, you don’t hit a single shot. You have to make tough decisions – not just on pairings, but about who to take and who to leave at home. If it all comes together, you’re a legend. If it all goes wrong, you can become a laughing stock.

Luke Donald made it all look easier than most in Rome for the 2023 Ryder Cup. But if there’s one thing tougher than being a Ryder Cup captain, it’s being an away Ryder Cup captain.

An away team hasn’t won since 2012, and 11 of the last 13 matches have gone to the home side.

Following that Rome triumph last time, Team Europe star Rory McIlroy said: “I think one of the biggest accomplishments in golf right now is winning an away Ryder Cup. And that’s what we’re going to do at Bethpage.”

It was fighting talk, built on the understandable bravado that comes from a dominant win. But delivering on that promise is no easy task.

And not just due to the difficulty of winning away.

Eight of the world’s top 10 players have stars and stripes next to their name in the Official World Golf Rankings list – and Bryson DeChambeau would be right up there if he didn’t ply his trade on LIV Golf, where world ranking points are still just a pipe dream. The last major of the year saw a podium clean sweep by Americans at Royal Portrush, with Scottie Scheffler, Harris English, and Chris Gotterup finishing 1-2-3.

Speaking of majors, 20 of the last 27 majors played have gone to American winners. Europeans? Just five.

The bookies give Team USA a 57.1% win probability this time around, compared to 37.8% for Europe.

How Luke Donald plans to upset the odds

If Luke Donald is to upset the odds and lead his European charges to victory in New York, he’ll become the first captain since 1987 to successfully defend, and just the second in the modern era – USA vs Europe, as opposed to GB&I – to win home and away.

The size of the task in front of him isn’t lost on Donald, and he’s been doing everything he can to give himself and his team the best possible chance.

“I was on two away winning Ryder Cups, so it can be done, but it hasn’t been done since 2012, and I’d like to try and change that,” he says. “Nothing good happens unless it’s tough.”

“There’s a saying: ‘No pressure, no diamonds.’ I’m fine with pressure, as long as I’ve done the work and the preparation.”

Part of that preparation has included leaning on Tony Jacklin, the only man who has achieved the feat Donald is so desperate to emulate.

Jacklin confirmed that Donald was the first Ryder Cup captain to have called on his expertise, but for the 49-year-old Englishman, it was a no-brainer.

“I did call up Tony, I think out of respect for what he has done in the Ryder Cup and what he represents,” Donald explains. “Nobody has captained for Europe four times and nobody has won a Ryder Cup away and at home. So why wouldn’t you call Tony and figure out if there’s anything you can glean from him?”

Donald was lauded for his captaincy last time, with Paul McGinley saying: “Luke will go down as one of the best captains that Europe has ever had.”

High praise indeed from a man who would be a part of that conversation himself after his succesful tenure in 2014.

But Donald isn’t resting on his laurels.

“I learned a lot about myself as captain,” he says. “First of all, I had to understand that I didn’t know everything. I had to immerse myself in all the information around me. I had to read a lot of books, read up on leadership, talk to a lot of past captains to try and figure out how I could put my own mark on the captaincy, but also understand what great leaders before me had done.

“There’s certain things we have in place, certain templates that are very successful, certain rituals and things that we do Ryder Cup to Ryder Cup to Ryder Cup, and learnings that we’ve had and we’ll continue those. But you have to evolve. You have to adapt. You have to never stay still and think that what we did in Rome is going to be good enough for New York. This is a different challenge, a different environment, and we have to evolve and adapt to that. The learning process never stops. If you stand still, you don’t evolve, you don’t adapt, you don’t learn from your mistakes, then it can bite you in the arse.

“You always try and learn from every Ryder Cup. Even if you are winning, are there things we could have changed? There’s certain things that we could have done better. A lot went right in Rome, but also you look back at 2016, at 2021 – what went wrong there?”

Course setup

Aside from partisan support, one of the things that gives home sides the biggest advantage is the ability to set up the course in a way that suits their players.  

“The Americans generally set up the golf courses in a very similar way,” says former captain Paul McGinley, who now serves as Strategic Advisor to Team Europe. “They like it pretty open, they don’t like tight fairways, and they cut down the rough – they don’t want big, heavy rough. They do like to have a low-scoring Ryder Cup, where players can be on the attack – they feel that’s better suited to the style of player that the American team is. So we’re expecting that. That’s what they’ve done in every away Ryder Cup.”

Donald is prepared for a Bethpage as America-friendly as can be, and says it will play a key part in determining who makes his team and who doesn’t.

“Maybe they’ll surprise us, but the past would tell us that’s how they’re going to set up the course,” he says.

“We have stats on Bethpage. They’ve had plenty of tournaments there. So we understand the characteristics that have performed well. You’ve got to be a good driver, [you] need a little bit of length. Some of these things we will take into consideration when we have to pick those six players. That’s one of the factors that will go into the picks: do these guys suit this golf course?”

Who fits the Bethpage formula?

If Luke Donald prioritizes driving, it’s good news for some potential wildcard picks – but worrying for others.

Assuming Jon Rahm gets a pick – and he will – that leaves five spots available.

Barring any late surges from players further down the rankings, there’s a clear group who are the most likely contenders to get a nod from Donald.

With that in mind, here’s how some of Europe’s most likely wildcard candidates stack up in terms of key driving metrics – based on performance over the past season across their respective tours:

* DP World Tour stats
** LIV Golf stats

One name that stands out is Marco Penge. His average driving distance of 321.5 yards ranks him 8th on the DP World Tour and would place him 3rd on the PGA Tour. Impressively, he pairs that power with decent accuracy, hitting 60.65% of fairways – a combination that ranks him 4th in Strokes Gained: Off-the-tee on the DP World Tour.

The numbers are less positive reading for Justin Rose. The six-time Ryder Cup star averages just 299.8 yards off the tee (114th on the PGA Tour), with a driving accuracy of 57.66% (113th). Despite highlighting its importance, Donald will be weighing up more than just driving stats when picking his team – which, frankly, is a bloody good job for Rose.

Niklas Norgaard and Aaron Rai present an interesting contrast.

Norgaard is a bomber, ranking 4th on the PGA Tour for distance but 169th for accuracy. Only five players average a bigger miss than the Dane. If Bethpage Black is set up wide and forgiving, as many expect, a wayward big-hitter might pay off… but it’s a gamble.

Rai, meanwhile, is the polar opposite. He’s the second most accurate driver on the PGA Tour, but near the bottom of the pile for distance and more than 30 yards shorter than Norgaard. His game is built on control, not brute strength – but that’s a lot of distance to surrender against some big-hitting Americans on what could be a bomber’s paradise layout.

• Ryder Cup standings: Who’s qualified for Bethpage?

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