Luke Donald Admits Europe Will Be Ryder Cup Underdogs In Rome

European Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald admits his side will be underdogs against Team USA in Rome, but is determined to make amends for the humbling the team suffered last time out.

Donald has had a supremely successful Ryder Cup career, winning all four of the tournaments he played in and one as a Thomas Bjorn’s vice-captain in Paris.

However, the 45-year-old was also part of Padraig Harrington’s team as a vice-captain when America earned a dominant 19-9 victory at Whistling Straits, and is using that as a motivating factor.

The USA have gone 30 years without winning on European soil – with Tom Watson’s success at The Belfry their last victory – but as the likely teams start to shape up, Donald says in a new Sky Sports documentary that Europe will be underdogs.

"The US are going to be very strong and I still think we will be underdogs," Donald says in the new Sky Sports Golf documentary 'Cool Hand Captain', available on Sky Sports Golf and Sky Sports On Demand from Saturday. 

"Just look at how strong they are in terms of world ranking, plus they're high on confidence. They will be coming in very excited but that doesn't mean we haven't been underdogs before and victorious, so we'll be prepared and ready.

"It [winning] would mean everything and I am obviously doing this job to win. I want to enjoy the journey, but the goal is to win and it will be disappointing if we don't."

Donald, who also shares some Ryder Cup stories as well as personal highlights in the Sky Sports production, says taking a thrashing at Whistling Straits is all the motivation he needs going into this year’s tournament at Marco Simone GC this September.

"It hurt a lot," Donald added. "I've been part of six Ryder Cups and that was the only one I've ever experienced being on the losing side.

"We were beaten pretty heavily and it wasn't fun at all, but from losing you learn in a way as you have to experience that to know you don't want to experience it again.

"You feel a little bit like you don't have control as a vice-captain, watching the guys, but you feel bad for them and you don't want that to happen again. Our guys have a lot of pride and there's nothing wrong in losing sometimes, as long as you learn from it."

The documentary will air on Saturday February 11 at 3.30pm on Sky Sports Golf, with the programme repeated on February 12 at 2pm, February 13 at 5.30pm and February 19 at 1.30pm and also available via Sky Sports On Demand.