Ryder Cup 2025: How Team Cup experience can help Luke Donald and Team Europe bid for victory away to Bethpage Black | Golf news
Should Luke Donald lead Team Europe to a historic victory on American soil at the Ryder Cup this September, there is little doubt that the Team Cup will be a factor in that success.
The three-day team event has been reintroduced to the DP World Tour schedule to help prepare for September’s Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black, with 10 players from Great Britain and Ireland taking on 10 players from continental Europe in Abu Dhabi.
Justin Rose and Francesco Molinari served as captains, and the event gave the players experience in a team environment and Donald a chance to refine some of his thoughts ahead of the Ryder Cup.
The contest was more one-sided than most would have predicted, with Great Britain and Ireland winning all four sessions en route to a convincing 17-8 victory over continental Europe, but there were still plenty of positives and learnings to take to New York later this year …
Donald has his eye on Ryder Cup hopefuls
The Team Cup was revived in 2023 to boost Europe’s chances of winning the Ryder Cup again, and the six players who featured in that year’s edition will play in Donald’s winning team later that year.
Four members of the last Ryder Cup squad featured in Abu Dhabi, along with two players from past European teams, and Donald was impressed by the many players trying to make their debuts.
“Aaron Rai is ranked 22nd in the world and has proven that he is getting better and better every time he plays,” Donald he told Sky Sports. “It was very good for him to get into a team environment and see how team competitions work.
“He [Laurie Canter] was very impressive. Statistically just behind Tomi [Fleetwood] and Tyrrell [Hatton] goes to single. Great driver of the golf ball and very nice in the game to always be in the game.
“Matthie Pavon really played great golf. He just looked very strong from the start.”
Pavon enters Ryder Cup consideration
There hasn’t been a Frenchman in a Ryder Cup team since Victor Dubuisson in 2014, but Matthieu Pavon – a winner on the PGA Tour last year en route to a season-ending Tour Championship title – could be ready to put an end to that.
Pavon was one of the limited positives for continental Europe over the first two days, taking Romain Langasque to victory in each of the first three sessions and then managing to parry Fleetwood’s birdie flurry in the singles before going down 3&1.
“He [Pavon] is something special,” said Paul McGinley, a former Ryder Cup captain and Donald’s strategic adviser for the 2025 event. “There’s a bit of grit about him.
“As much as we look at this Ryder Cup in a different way than any away games before, what we’re looking for is personality, guile and determination and someone who can play in a hostile environment.
“I think Pavon brings that to the table, so he’s been really impressive. He had a big year in America last year which sets him up for a big year this year because he’s in all the main and signature events.”
Fleetwood and Hatton lead from the front
Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, Ludvig Åberg, Viktor Hovland and Shane Lowry are all but certain to feature for Europe in New York, while experienced duo Fleetwood and Hatton have seemingly boosted their hopes with unbeaten performances for Great Britain and Ireland.
Fleetwood scored the winning point in their top-flight victory over Pavona – having also claimed the winning point for Europe beating the United States in 2023 – to finish on four points from four, while Hatton won 3.5 points and also kept a clean sheet answer.
Hatton will be limited to the Hero Dubai Desert Classic and four major events to earn Ryder Cup qualifying points, as he competes in the LIV Golf League, but believes he has shown the value he would add to Team Europe.
“By now, I guess Luke knows what I’m capable of or the type of golf I can produce,” Hatton said. “My job is harder to automatically qualify for the team, but I have five events to do it. I will do my best.”
Of the English pair, Donald said after the win: “Tommy and Tyrrell played incredible golf. We know how good they are and they were the difference players at the end.”
Players get to sample the Ryder Cup atmosphere
The small crowd for the first meeting in the Middle East is a stark contrast to what the Europeans will face in September, where thousands of rowdy Americans are likely to provide a hostile welcome, prompting Donald to create alternative ways to acclimate players to the professional game. in the USA.
Players were forced to listen to chants of “USA, USA” over the public address system before practice rounds and at the first game during tournament days, with artificial noise added at various parts of the week and additional chants from the crowd.
The practice rounds also included deliberate distraction tactics aimed at the players, such as they might encounter in front of an American crowd during the Ryder Cup. The two environments are obviously very different, but it could help the Europeans – even just a little – to prepare for playing away from home.
“You can’t simulate the intensity of the Ryder Cup with the crowd and the energy,” Rose said. “At the end of the day, as soon as you put the crest up here and you have 10 teammates right behind you, you want to win. The intensity is there. The competitiveness is there. It’s just an environment that’s hard to simulate.”
Stories help players prepare for Bethpage
Being inside the team room was an unknown quantity for many involved, but Ryder Cup players and captains past and present – including Jose Maria Olazabal, McGinley and Sam Torrance – were on hand to offer their support and educate the players on how to represent the team Europe.
“We’re not here to dictate to the players and treat them like school kids with ‘this is what you have to do,'” McGinley explained. “We share ideas. We share experiences.
“It’s all good for the players to learn and understand that this isn’t just kindergarten stuff that we’re going into there. It’s going to be a very hostile, volatile atmosphere where a lot of unpleasant things are going to potentially happen and we have to be ready for that.
“I think players like to hear stories, and you illustrate your points by telling stories and giving examples.”
Rose proves to be a captain in waiting
Former world No. 1 Rose still hopes to be at the Ryder Cup as a player, having missed out on captaincy for the final tour in 2021, although he has gained valuable experience for future behind-the-scenes roles for Team Europe.
A great honor, Rose said of his captaincy experience. “I loved the challenge. I loved the experience and the guys made me look incredibly good at it!
“They basically guarded me. I tried to do my best with the messages and put my stamp on my team. It was a great experience for me personally and I hope [one I] I can take with me into the future, whatever it may be.”
On Rose’s performance and what he will get, Donald added: “It was great to see Rose take on that role. A small part of the process is to try to get some of these guys – who could be future Ryder Cup captains – into the mix and get a feel for to be a captain.
“It’s all part of that, getting these guys ready for future Ryder Cup captains and getting these players ready – hopefully – to be ready for New York, but if they’re not ready for the next one and the one after that.”
Europe is reaching new levels in its quest for history
There has been only one European victory on American soil this century, with this week’s Team Cup an opportunity for the back-to-back team to finalize plans – on and off the pitch – that will give them the best chance of more frequent wins away from home.
McGinley said during the event that he had “never seen preparation like this”, with additional on-track data analysis combined with new pairings, nutritional approaches, post-lap treatments and additional tactics tried.
“There are a lot of great lessons for all the guys in September,” Rose said after the win, where he said his team was “spoiled” by what they were offered during the competition.
The Team Cup gave some of Europe’s potential Ryder Cup contenders a taste of what they might experience later this year. Will it help lead Donald and his team to back-to-back victories? Only time will tell, but it won’t stop those hopes…
What’s next?
The race to represent Team Europe at the 2025 Ryder Cup is already well underway and will dominate the next few months, with players having until the Betfred British Masters in August to automatically earn their place in Donald’s team.
Can Team Europe claim a historic Ryder Cup victory on American soil? Watch the Ryder Cup exclusively live from 26-28 September on Sky Sports. Stream the PGA Tour, DP World Tour, LPGA Tour and more with NOW.
