This is the 45th edition of the biennial contest and the visitors have made fewer alterations to their team than in any previous contest in the 98-year history of the event.
As Europe, the next fewest number of changes was three in 1985, 1987 and 2006 – and all three ended in victories.
Dane Rasmus Hojgaard, who was embedded with the team in Rome, is the solitary change, replacing his twin brother Nicolai, having qualified for his debut through the ranking system.
Montgomerie, who led the side to victory in 2010 and won five out of eight as a player, joked on BBC Radio 5 Live’s Ryder Cup preview programme: “With all due respect Rasmus and Nicolai are the same person really. They shared the same egg, so we have the same team and that’s huge.”
With Donald looking to emulate Jacklin as the only captain to win home and away matches and cement his place alongside Europe’s greats, he opted not to include any rookies in his six selections.
“If I was coming into a home Ryder Cup I’d be comfortable with a few rookies, next generation coming through, which is what happened in Rome,” said Rose.
“There is still tons of pressure, don’t get me wrong, but I’m really happy the boys have experienced a Ryder Cup and they know what to expect in terms of the rhythm and flow of the week and the emotion.”
And you can understand Donald’s thinking, of seeking to take a settled community into what Montgomerie has called a “cauldron”.
“It’s important we have a good amount of experience in that team room with people that have dealt with it,” said Donald.
Faldo, who amassed 25 points from 11 appearances, second only to Sergio Garcia’s 28.5 – added: “Your big guys have got to do the heavy lifting.
“You need half the team playing great, winning the point and hope one or two others have a great period. If you can get close to 10 points out of the first two days, you only need four out of 12 in the singles. That’s the gameplan.”
Faldo was talking about the likes of Rory McIlroy, Tommy Fleetwood, Jon Rahm, Tyrrell Hatton and Rose, who have all won more than 50% of the points they have contested.
Major winners McIlroy (18 points) and Rose (15.5) also bring seasoned know-how, having been in the victorious 2012 side alongside Donald.
Fleetwood broke his PGA Tour duck by winning the season-ending Tour Championship last month, while Rahm was crowned LIV Golf’s individual player of the year for a second time.
Hatton’s major performances meant he claimed an automatic place despite also playing on the Saudi circuit and having limited qualification opportunities.
Robert MacIntyre, an inspired wildcard pick in Rome who has qualified this time round, could be added to that quintet given his performances since then.
After going unbeaten on his Ryder Cup debut, he has won the Scottish and Canadian Open titles – as well as finishing runner-up at the US Open in June.
Rahm needed a wildcard pick, as did Viktor Hovland and Ludvig Aberg, who impressed as a pairing in Rome with two wins from three matches.
Donald has also put his faith in Shane Lowry and Sepp Straka – who won one and lost one of their two outings together in 2023 – and Matt Fitzpatrick, despite his poor record of one point in three appearances, two of which were heavy away defeats in 2016 and 2021.
“They’ve had a dry run and made it work, they know the pairings,” said Europe’s first Ryder Cup-winning captain Jacklin.
“You don’t go in there complacent. The antennae is up and you’re looking for weakness but I can’t see anything other than a European win.”
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