'I Fully Expect Us To Be Underdogs' - Ryder Cup Captain Luke Donald

Luke Donald will head into next year’s Ryder Cup at Rome’s Marco Simone Golf and Country club under no illusions about the size of the task facing his team, with Zach Johnson’s Team USA likely to start as heavy favourites. 

However, the 44-year-old hopes home advantage can help the Europeans reclaim the trophy they lost emphatically last year at Whistling Straits. He said: “I think being at home is certainly worth something, we see that in all sports, but no doubt we’re going against a very, very strong opponent. I think the US Presidents Cup team was the strongest they’ve ever been on paper. They have some phenomenal teams that seem to be tough to beat, guys like Schauffele and Cantlay, Justin and Jordan.”

Donald will probably need to rely on a weakened team, with the likes of Lee Westwood, Sergio Garcia and Ian Poulter unlikely to be considered due to their involvement in LIV Golf – a similar problem faced by Presidents Cup International team captain Trevor Immelman at Quail Hollow last month. 

Meanwhile, despite the prospect of missing some top players of their own, including Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau, US counterpart Zach Johnson still has plenty of top-class players to choose from – and that’s a fact not lost on Donald. He said: “These guys have win records that are north of 80 per cent so it’s going to be a tough challenge."

Europe’s last defeat on home soil came in a narrow defeat at The Belfry in 1993, but despite such a formidable record, Donald knows Europe are likely to be unfancied. He said: “I fully expect us to be underdogs despite that home percentage of wins over the last 30 years.”

While Donald is cautious given the scale of the challenge awaiting him next September, he thinks the recent wins of Robert MacIntyre in the Italian Open and Guido Migliozzi in the French Open – which both offered Ryder Cup qualifying points – suggest the appeal of making the team is as strong as ever. He said: “Bob MacIntyre and Guido, a few months ago felt like they’d lost their games a little bit, they talked about that, and I think seeing the importance of the Ryder Cup and how motivating that is has somewhat turned around their games. To see them winning tournaments is great for me. It’s been the ideal start.”

Earlier, World No.41 Seamus Power expressed his desire to play for Team Europe next season suggesting that, even though he’s unlikely to be able to select LIV Golf players, Donald will still have plenty of willing participants determined to upset the odds next year.