“I Know Keegan Very Well, We've Been Quite Close Friends For A Long Time And I Certainly Don't Underestimate Him.” Luke Donald On The Challenge Of Going Head To Head With Keegan Bradley

One of the most intriguing storylines during any Ryder Cup week is how the respective captains will fare. Undoubtedly, the winning captain will be hailed as a master strategist and a visionary leader while every decision by his losing counterpart will pulled apart and criticised by anyone with a passing interest. In the world of Ryder Cup captaincy, there’s no grey area.

An added element to this year’s head-to-head at Bethpage Black is that the two men at the helm know each other very well. In fact, they are friends who have gone up against each other in past Ryder Cups.

In this exclusive interview, Europe’s captain Luke Donald speaks about his opposite number as well as the tactics he uses to pair players on the first two days.

What sort of captain will Keegan be?

He'll be very spirited. You see it when he's playing individually, he gets very into it, he's very emotional, he's gonna whip up the crowd, he's gonna be very patriotic. He cares deeply about the Ryder Cup, he's got a few open wounds as a player, definitely, and he'll want to avenge that. I think he will be trying very hard in any way he can to make sure his team wins. I know Keegan very well, we've been quite close friends for a long time and I certainly don't underestimate him because of how much he loves the Ryder Cup and what it represents.

Has your friendship taken a twist?

Not really. We still text each other. We're not talking too much about the Ryder Cup. We'll share a beer on Sunday night no matter what.

From a fourballs and foursome's perspective, what makes two players gel?

We look at personality match-ups but also statistics, whether you're a foursome or fourball player. How many birdies do you make? There's a bit more to it than that but we start with personality matchups because you want to be comfortable with who you're playing with.

How's the Ryder Cup changed since your debut in 2004?

It gets bigger and bigger. There’s a pretty good rivalry that continues to grow because of all kinds of things. Other than 2012 where the US were very disappointed to lose and we didn't hang out afterwards, every Ryder Cup I've been a part of, we always celebrate together on Sunday. We have a lot of respect for each other when it comes down to it and as long as you understand that, I think that's pretty important.