On the walls of Europe’s carefully designed players’ quarters at Bethpage Black were inspirational photographs of winning teams from yesteryear and motivational quotes from legends of the game. Perhaps the most energising of all came from a surprising source, the US captain Keegan Bradley.
“We’re going to go to Bethpage and kick their f****** ass,” he had said in the build-up. Those words were written in giant red and white print on a blue wall in the European living space, with Bradley’s name underneath in attribution. After winning the Cup 15-13 on Sunday, Shane Lowry made sure to take a smiling photo with the quote while holding the trophy.
This was one of hundreds of tiny pieces of detail that went into Europe’s remarkable Ryder Cup triumph. When Luke Donald was awarded the captaincy ahead of the 2023 Ryder Cup in Rome, one of the first steps he took was to educate himself on the role, and he read numerous books on leadership in sport and in life.
He learnt the importance of clear communication, which is why he prioritised close contact with his players outside the Ryder Cup season and delivered early clarity on his preferred pairings. His most important takeaway was that an effective leader provides a simple, unequivocal goal for their team to pursue.
In Rome, the aim was simple: to win back the Ryder Cup. But Donald felt he needed a fresh message in New York. He used Rory McIlroy’s statement two years ago about an away Ryder Cup being the hardest feat in sport and shaped a goal around creating history. Their new mission was to become only the fifth European team to win in America.
Donald came up with a tagline – “Our time. Our place.” – designed to hammer home the message. That phrase was covered over all of the team’s social media content, and it was the last thing the European players saw as they walked out of their locker room to the first tee, those four words emblazoned by the door.
He commissioned a moving video featuring many of the 37 European men who have won an away Ryder Cup, including Justin Rose, McIlroy and Donald himself, who were part of the 2012 Miracle at Medinah. It reinforced the sense that they were playing for their place in a greater story, a message Donald repeated in his speech at the opening ceremony.
Donald continued playing golf but he dedicated himself to the captaincy in a way that Bradley did not. His relationship with data guru Edoardo Molinari was crucial and every European pairing had to be approved by Molinari’s models, analysing optimal duos for foursomes and fourballs, as well as containing some personal chemistry.
Donald felt retaining 11 of the same players from Rome under virtually the same leadership was crucial. The data revealed that rookies don’t perform well when they make their Ryder Cup debut away from home, so Europe tweaked their selection criteria to better suit experienced players and to aid LIV players Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton in accruing qualifying points.
A major focus was recovery, with McIlroy, Rahm and Tommy Fleetwood expected to play five rounds across three days in baking heat. Europe brought their own bedding so the players would get a comfortable night’s sleep. They discovered cracks in the hotel room doors that let in light and blocked them. They even brought their own sweet-smelling shampoos.
Paul McGinley, Donald’s strategic adviser, bragged that Team Europe had spent more money than ever before, and it showed in the bespoke locker room built at Bethpage Black for the three-day competition. The players had an expansive gym to warm up and cool down, with baths and a sauna. They also had bedrooms on site to get some rest, which matched the same bedding as their hotel.
They deployed virtual reality headsets to mimic the hostile American crowds – the strategy of smiling and getting on with the golf worked, for the most part. Donald asked speakers, including former England rugby captain Owen Farrell, to share their experiences. Andy Murray and Roger Federer also delivered motivating video messages in the team room.
None of which necessarily helped hit drives down the fairways of Bethpage or sent putts rolling into cups. The Europeans still had to go out and play great golf. But Donald wanted to leave no stone unturned and make them feel utterly prepared, so that when they stood over the ball their mind was clear.
It came back to that one overarching message, the mission to make history. In the European changing room, those words – “Our time. Our place.” – were written above each seat in their native language. The dates of the four previous wins were written on the walls: 1987, 1995, 2004 and 2012. And hanging there all week were the four shirts of Europe’s previous winning away teams.
Donald asked his players to add one more shirt to the rail, and they delivered.
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