Chants of “two more years” echoed around Bethpage Black as Luke Donald’s men savoured an historic Ryder Cup triumph on American soil.
Donald became just the second European captain to win consecutive Ryder Cups after Tony Jacklin in 1985 and 1987 as Europe held off USA on a thrilling final day.
Europe were prepared for the hostility and “abusive” behaviour, using Rory McIlroy’s description, which dominated the event and Donald was key to instilling that mentality.
“I really have committed myself to this job because I feel I owe it to the players and I owe it to the Ryder Cup which has been so special to me. I’ve had so many incredible experiences,” said Donald.
“I’ve had to kind of put my own game a little bit to the side, and every day I’m trying to think about things that could help us, come up with different things that might just give us a little edge.
“We came into this in New York, and we knew New York was not going to be easy. It was rough. It was brutal at times out there. It really was. It was nasty sometimes.
“But I think when you prep these guys enough and you communicate enough with these guys and you give them a plan and an idea and a theme and a motivation, they don’t really need motivating, but, the theme causes the cohesion of the team.”
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Highlights of the key moments from the final day of the Ryder Cup from Bethpage as Europe hold on to clinch the trophy
‘Europe’s greatest captain’
Attention to detail was key to Europe’s fifth win on US soil with Donald citing hotel conditions, the use of data to pick the fourballs and foursomes pairings and even different shampoos.
It all contributed to an unprecedented seven-point lead for Europe going into the final day and they showed great character to deny USA a memorable comeback.
“Europe played better than us and deserved to win. They are a great team,” USA captain Keegan Bradley told Sky Sports Golf.
“In my eyes, Luke Donald is the best European captain of all time.”
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Team USA captain Keegan Bradley heaped praise on Donald after Team Europe retained the Ryder Cup
Donald had been open that the big players for Team Europe needed to deliver to win a Ryder Cup. And looking at the highest-scoring performers for Europe – Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm and Tommy Fleetwood all scored at least three points in New York, showing they could perform under pressure.
“We got so lucky in getting an incredible leader in Luke Donald,” said McIlroy.
“He shepherded us through this process and he’s been absolutely amazing. A lot of the credit has to go down to him.”
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Watch the historic moment Europe won the Ryder Cup outright on American soil and how Donald reacted to the triumph
Rahm added: “Luke has set the bar for captaincy so extremely high. What he’s done these four years is absolutely astonishing.
“He’s been so professional, so dedicated, so incredibly meticulous and well-organised.
“That’s why you’ve seen the two performances you’ve seen from us. The only thing left to say from all of us is: two more years!”
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An emotional Rory McIlroy gives his reaction to Team Europe’s Ryder Cup win at Bethpage
So will Donald carry on for 2027?
Bernard Gallacher was the last Europe captain to hold the role for three consecutive years in the 1990s and the players are clearly keen for Donald to continue.
The next Ryder Cup takes place at Adare Manor in Ireland in 2027 and Donald was asked on Sunday night if he would continue for another spell.
“My answer is I’m going to enjoy tonight,” he said.
Clearly Donald did not want to take any of the limelight away from his team’s win, again showing his humble personality and not wanting to take too much credit for the victory.
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Bradley and Donald had their say on the ‘envelope rule’ which ruled out Viktor Hovland and Harris English for the Sunday singles
Sky Sports Golf‘s Paul McGinley has been an advisor for Team Europe at the Ryder Cup and revealed talks will take place about Donald’s Ryder Cup future in October.
“Luke is going to be nearly 50 in two years’ time, so his senior career will have started and he will be an excellent seniors player,” he said.
“I’ve spoken to him about it and we agreed to put everything on hold. We wanted to have 100 per cent focus on Bethpage Black and getting over the line.
“It’s a conversation for another day, in the next month. Let’s just let everything die down, consider some things and take it from there.”
Sky Sports Golf‘s Andrew Coltart added: “He’s created unbreakable bonds with those 12 guys over the last two Ryder Cups. How does he disappoint them if they want him to lead?
“The understanding of what makes each other tick under Luke’s guidance was perfect. The intensity these guys were under – and to still play at a spectacular level – was head scratching.”
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