In 2023, after Luke Donald led Europe to a 16.5-11.5 Ryder Cup victory at Marco Simone, the team made its message to the captain clear in the form of a chant: “Two more years.”
The wish of the players was granted two months later when it was confirmed Donald would retain the captaincy for the Bethpage Black match.
Like his first match as captain, Donald’s attention to detail in preparing for the challenge was meticulous, while he cut an impressive figure throughout the week as his players, 11 of whom had competed two years ago, withstood a Sunday singles fightback from the US to win 15-13.
Therefore, it seemed inevitable that, once again, there would be pleas for Donald to remain in the hotseat for the 2027 contest at Adare Manor. Sure enough, they came shortly after Shane Lowry’s putt on the 18th that ensured the Ryder Cup would remain in European hands.
The win even left US captain Keegan Bradley admitting afterwards that: “In my eyes, Luke Donald is the best European Ryder Cup captain of all time,” so it was no surprise when the conversation turned to his future when he and the team spoke to the media following the victory – Europe’s first on US soil since 2012.
First, Jon Rahm tried to dissect what makes Donald such a good leader. He said: “There's so many things that Luke has done outstandingly professionally, so perfect, that it's hard to say one.
“Without getting too much into it, the level of professionalism he's shown us the last four years, his attention to detail in his post and his knowledge of Ryder Cup and the game and what we do on the golf course day in can day out is what made these last two Ryder Cups possible.
“He is the captain of this ship, and he's led us better than I can see anybody leading us. He set the bar extremely high for the future captains.”
A little later, Shane Lowry added: “Let's do it again in Ireland,” to which Donald simply said: “No comment.”
If Donald was hoping that would be enough to deflect attention from the subject, he was mistaken. Further on, the question was raised: “If you're asked to do this, if you're asked to do two more years, what's your answer?”
Immediately, the familiar message from the team was back: "Two more years! Two more years!"
Once again, Donald wouldn’t commit, but, with a smile on his face, replied: “My answer is I'm going to enjoy tonight.”
The victory meant Donald became only the second European captain, after Tony Jacklin, to win the Ryder Cup home and away, and he offered some insight into how big a commitment the role is – including neglecting his own playing career.
He said: “Yeah, I really have committed myself to this job because I feel I owe it to the players and I owe it to the Ryder Cup, which has been so special to me. I've had so many incredible experiences.
“So yeah, I've had to kind of put my own game a little bit to the side, and every day I'm trying to think about things that could help us, come up with different things that might just give us a little edge.
“We came into this in New York, and we knew New York was not going to be easy. It was rough. It was brutal at times out there. It really was. It was nasty sometimes.
“But I think when you prep these guys enough and you communicate enough with these guys and you give them a plan and an idea and a theme and a motivation, they don't really need motivating, but you know, the theme causes the cohesion of the team. I was very fortunate to have 11 of the same guys from Rome.”
Considering the winning formula Donald has found, the calls for him to stay on are only likely to get louder in the weeks to come.
