Opinion: Luke Donald Has The Chance To Write Himself Into Ryder Cup Folklore At Bethpage

Keegan Bradley has already described Luke Donald as one of the greatest Ryder Cup captains of all time and the Englishman will certainly be in that fold if his side prevails in New York this week.

It's easy to forget that Donald was never an automatic choice to be a Ryder Cup captain. He is a former World No.1 and a four-time Ryder Cup winner but was behind the likes of Ian Poulter, Sergio Garcia, Lee Westwood and Henrik Stenson, possibly Graeme McDowell too, in the pecking order.

Had it not been for the emergence of LIV Golf, Donald may never have actually been a captain - what a world that would have been.

Henrik Stenson leaving for LIV and being stripped of the captaincy now looks to have been a stroke of luck for Europe, with Donald emerging as arguably the greatest modern day European skipper already.

His calm demeanour coupled with his intense competitiveness has been the perfect combination and the way he has taken to the job has been phenomenal.

From the behind-the-scenes work to the personal touches, nods to Seve Ballesteros and Europe's history along with the way that all 12 players are once again fully set on competing for him has been a masterstroke.

'One more year, one more year,' was what the side were chanting last time out in Rome. You didn't hear that for any of the other recent captains. That's not a slight on any past captain but more of a testament to just how well Donald has done in the role.

He has also handled the Ryder Cup pay debate perfectly, too, with Europe choosing not be paid while the US side receive $500,000 ($300,000 for charity plus a $200,000 stipend).

"This came up and I wanted to get ahead of it, and talked to the 12 guys in Rome when it looked like the US were going to do something different with payments," Donald told Sky Sports in New York.

"Every one of them was like 'No we don't want to get paid, this isn't a week to get paid.'

"We have such strong purpose in this team and what we play for, and to be honest we reinvest some of that money back into the experience of these guys.

"I feel like if you have those experiences that you remember for the rest of your life, that's worth more than a couple hundred thousand dollars in the back of your pocket.

"For me, I was very proud of the guys. I think the ideals of how this Ryder Cup was set up back in the 20s by Samuel Ryder and I think he would have been proud too."

If Europe do win or even retain the trophy at Bethpage Black come Sunday night, the narrative may turn to the fact that USA's choice of a 39-year-old captain still in the peak of his playing career with only two Ryder Cup appearances was bizarre and the writing was on the wall.

These will be acceptable arguments but the fact is before a shot has been struck the 2025 Ryder Cup is set up to be a true 50-50 thriller. Europe could be steamrolled in the same way the US could be outclassed on home soil.

Nobody has an inkling of what will happen or who will emerge victorious. Both teams are supremely strong, with 15 of the world's top 16 players in the field (Keegan Bradley is the only man in the top 16 not teeing it up this week ironically).

Bradley has Scottie Scheffler and six other world top-10 players at his disposal as well as a partisan New York crowd on his side so a Europe win would truly be historic.

It would be the fifth away win in European history and firmly cement Donald as one of his team's greatest ever Ryder Cup captains.

This would be a man who has spent over a year as World No.1, won the money list on the PGA and European Tours in the same year, won 17 professional titles around the world, four Ryder Cups as a player and then possibly back-to-back Ryder Cups as a captain. All before the age of 50.

What a legacy.

I dare to say a European victory could even prompt calls for a third Donald captaincy with no obvious successor currently lined up (I think 2027 could still be too early for Justin Rose).

There is a way that Donald goes about things that makes you believe that Europe are almost impossible to beat - just watch his tour of the Ryder Cup team room:

He really, really gets what the Ryder Cup is about for Europeans.

He also hopes to that he can have some kind of influence on the result while accepting that criticism will come if his side loses.

"I really do hope that the captain has a little bit of an influence. We spend a lot of time, Keegan has been through it now himself," Donald said on Monday.

"He understands the hours and the preparation that goes into being a captain, looking at all the little details about how you can try and find little edges and get the guys prepared.

"Ultimately it's my job to get those guys in the right frame of mind performing at the highest level that they can perform on the golf course.

"If things go wrong, then yeah, there will be lots of questions aimed at me, and that's the responsibility you take as a captain. But again, you hope that with the preparation, it will hopefully help your team, give them a better opportunity."

Before we can start getting carried away, Donald and his team have a huge task ahead of them this week.

Keegan Bradley appears to have got his US side in great shape with an atmosphere in the team room that is akin to Europe's. He too seems to have truly embraced what the Ryder Cup is about and there is every chance he could emerge as an exceptional surprise captain in the same way as Donald.

Bradley himself will go down in history as one of the USA's greatest captains if he can pull this off. If the USA win well, calls will surely start for a back-to-back Bradley captaincy like Donald, too.

Before the first tee shot is struck on Friday at 7.10am, the 2025 Ryder Cup is poised to be an all-timer.

There's so much on the line for both sides and the fallout and post-game storylines are set to be fascinating.

What we do know is an away win would undoubtedly cement Donald's status in Ryder Cup folklore.

Whether Europe can get over the line remains to be seen. Bring it on.