European Ryder Cup skipper Luke Donald: I'm having sleepless nights now

European Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald says he's now starting to have sleepless nights over who he will take to the Marco Simone Golf & Country Club.

Ben Smith

24 Aug 2023

European Ryder Cup skipper Luke Donald: I'm having sleepless nights now

European Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald revealed he's not sure if he's suffering from jet-lag or just having sleepless nights over his captain's picks.

The 2023 Ryder Cup is a matter of weeks away and soon we will soon know the Europeans joining Jon Rahm and Rory McIlroy taking on Zach Johnson's Team USA in Rome at the Marco Simone Golf & Country Club.

As things stand before the Czech Masters and Tour Championship, Tyrrell Hatton and Tommy Fleetwood are occupying the two remaining spots on the world points list whereas Scotland's Bob MacIntyre is clinging on to the final place on the European points list.

Donald is paired with MacIntyre and another Ryder Cup hopeful, Sweden's Alexander Bjork in the first two rounds at the Albatross Golf Resort in Prague.

Bjork is a name that hasn't really been mentioned but as far as Donald is concerned he is all to aware of the numbers.

"I was looking at the statistics this morning and someone as low as 23rd on the European Points list, if they won this week and next, still has a statistical chance of making that top three on the list," Donald told reporters.

Other players vying for the final spot include German Yannik Paul, Poland's Adrian Meronk, France's Victor Perez, Spain's Adrian Otaegui and the young Dane Rasmus Hojgaard.

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Paul decided to skip last week's ISPS Handa World Invitational, which was described as 'bizarre' given he trailed MacIntyre by 90 points.

It looks likely that Shane Lowry will need a captain's pick.

The Englishman is now starting to have some sleepless nights.

He continued:

"I'm not sure if it was the jet-lag last night or lots of things building up, but I was up for a couple of hours in the middle of the night.

"Lots of things whirring through my head – who I should be talking to, next steps, all that sort of stuff.

"It's becoming more and more as the week gets closer. A lot to digest, I'm trying to take it day by day, but it's an important week. I'm excited to be very close to finalising those 12 guys."

The aforementioned McIlroy spoke about the Ryder Cup before the Tour Championship.

He insisted Europe will be fine without the likes of Ian Poulter, Lee Westwood and Sergio Garcia as there was a changing off the guard anyway.

Donald said he's excited to see how the next few weeks will unfold.

He continued:

"Everyone in their right mind should have playing a Ryder Cup as a goal of theirs. People who have played never want to miss one once they’ve been a part of it. Rookies want to understand how special the event is.

"A lot of guys who should be playing are playing this week and I’m excited to see how the week unfolds."

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As for Johnson's U.S. side, the American appears to have some tougher choices.

LIV Golf's Brooks Koepka was knocked out of the automatic qualifying spaces after the conclusion of the BMW Championship.

That means he will now have to rely on Johnson and his team of vice-captains.

Johnson will also have to decide whether to take Justin Thomas. The 30-year-old has had a poor season by his standards and was a non-factor in the four majors. He also failed to finish inside the top 70 in the FedEx Cup.

That being said, Thomas boasts a stellar Ryder Cup record.

Not taking Thomas would be sheer lunacy, according to this major champ.

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