Luke Donald Reveals Five Potential Ryder Cup Rookies On His Radar
Luke Donald has chosen to play alongside two potential Ryder Cup rookies at the Irish Open and named three other very much on his radar for Adare Manor
There's a year to go butEuropean Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald already has his eye on possible rookie candidates for Adare Manor, and will take a look at a couple of them during the Amgen Irish Open.
Donald is already a European legend but can cement his legacy further by winning three Ryder Cups in a row next year, and he's already starting to formulate his plans and ponder team selections.
As captain, Donald says he can pick and choose who he plays with when he tees it up at DP World Tour tournaments - and this offers up an insight into his thinking about potential players for next year.
And at Trump International Doonbeg he admitted that his playing partners are very much on his radar, along with a couple of other potential Ryder Cup rookies who will join him on a European gathering at Adare Manor after the Irish Open.
Donald is playing alongside Tom McKibbin and Alex Fitzpatrick in the opening two rounds of the Irish Open - at his request as he wants to take a closer look at their games.
"One of the privileges is I do tend to, most weeks when I'm playing over here, get to choose my pairings," said Donald at Doonbeg.
"I think Alex Fitzpatrick, obviously speaks for itself how well he's done off the back of his win with his brother at Zurich. He's really kicked on amazingly well, showing that his game holds up against some of the very best on the US tour. Tremendous strong finish at The Tour Championship.
"Tom is someone I've played a couple times with before. Certainly I think he played quite well a couple weeks ago at the British Masters. Statistically, I think he's starting to show some improvement. So I'm looking forward to seeing his game as well."
It's not just playing alongside the skipper that gets players in Donald's sights though, it's also the crucial invitation to dinners and team gatherings that show who's on his radar.
As first revealed in The Scotsman, Donald will host a gathering at Adare Manor directly after the Irish Open where players will spend time getting to know the Ryder Cup course as well as their potential teammates.
McKibbin is not thought to be among the group this time, but Donald named Fitzpatrick along with Kristoffer Reitan, Eugenio Chacarra and Angel Ayora as invitees for the Adare Manor trip.
That makes up the five potential Ryder Cup rookies Donald has early thoughts on as candidates for his team, with the imperious European captain feeling these gatherings help foster the renowned team spirit that often fires them to victory.
Donald hoping Rahm & Hatton qualify
Another piece of the puzzle Donald tries to stay on top of is Ryder Cup qualifying, which he hopes has been set up to give the likes of Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton every chance to qualify by right even if they continue on LIV Golf.
Both men made deals with the DP World Tour to play more this year, and although it's still largely up in the air for next season, Donald seems pretty hopeful they'll have enough starts to make his top six.
"I think there's still some uncertainty," Donald said on the LIV situation. "I think time will tell to see where those guys land. Obviously very consistent through my captaincy that you want your best players available, and you want them playing as many counting events as possible.
"I think you set your qualification system to try and determine who those top six guys are, and the more someone like a Jon or Tyrrell, if they are playing more events on the DP World Tour, they are going to have a better opportunity to fill one of those top six. So that's obviously great.
"If not, we'll see what happens. But I don't really determine their schedules or where they play. But I know a lot of these guys, the Ryder Cup is high up on their priority list. So I'm sure they will be thinking about that."
