The key change behind Europe’s Ryder Cup quest at Bethpage Black

Luke Donald is ready to reinvent Europe’s approach to defend the Ryder Cup 2025 at Bethpage Black and tackle the hostile environment produced by the American fans.

Europe’s captain, who inspired a comprehensive beatdown of Team USA in Rome two years ago, completed his 12-strong team for this month’s reverse match in New York.

And after Jon Rahm, Shane Lowry, Viktor Hovland, Ludvig Aberg, Matt Fitzpatrick and Sepp Straka joined automatic qualifiers Rory McIlroy, Robert MacIntyre, Tommy Fleetwood, Justin Rose, Rasmus Hojgaard and Tyrrell Hatton, Donald revealed a glimpse of his mindset as he attempts to mastermind a first away win in the competition since “The Miracle of Medinah” in 2012.

“I’m looking at it as an overall strategy for what’s required at Bethpage,” the former world No 1 said. “I think for me, looking at Rome and how well it went is one thing, but tackling an away Ryder Cup is different.

“For me, I wanted to up the communication, obviously not just for the 12 that make it, I didn’t know who they were, but the communication amongst a group of players that I thought was going to be on that Ryder Cup team or have chances to be on the Ryder Cup team, and just talking a lot about the environment that we’re going to face.

“You know, again, I think the more you can talk about it, the more you can get it in their heads, the more they can start to prepare and be ready for that environment. Upped communication, especially about the environment.

“But then, also, these are the greatest kind of days of our lives. We really unbelievably enjoy the weeks of Ryder Cups. They are so different. And so for me, as fun and as good as Rome was, I want to make this an even better experience for them. So think of new ways for them to really enjoy the week.”

The cauldron of Bethpage Black will present a genuine test against Keegan Bradley’s formidable team, which includes world No 1 Scottie Scheffler.

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And Jon Rahm maintained composure will be vital to overcoming a hungry United States team desperate for revenge after a 16.5-11.5 loss at Marco Simone.

“I’m not going to lie and say that I’ve been perfect with handling my emotions with the crowds in the past,” Rahm said. “But I think the more I’ve experienced, not only in the Ryder Cup, but in regular events, as well, not the easier it gets, but the better I understand how to handle things.

“I think the fact that it’s a team event, knowing that I’m going to have the home crowd against me, feeling that, it’s what happens in any other sport, right, in Europe, the US and every country in the world when you’re playing rivals and you go in an away game, the crowd is going to be against you… I think just understanding that I know that’s going to happen and I know I’m going to hear a lot of things that I don’t like.

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“But as part of this sport, right, I feel like the Ryder Cup, when it comes to certain things, is one of those times where you do feel similar to some world stages. You think of a final of a Champions League; if somebody were to be able to host it in their home country, there would be a very big disparity on the crowd.

“I try to base myself on that, knowing that, OK, starting, 95 per cent of the fans out there want me to lose, and they are going to try their hardest to cheer against us and say things we don’t like.

“But at the same time, there are some creative people out there that are fun and if you can use some of the funny things they say – though they can be hurtful – in a good way, you can almost use that energy to help you out. So I’m really looking forward to it.”

Shane Lowry, playing in his third Ryder Cup, claimed that home advantage may not be as significant as many expect, especially considering the limited number of European fans able to travel during the Covid pandemic in the USA’s last home Ryder Cup in 2021.

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“Whistling Straits was a bit of an outlier where there were pretty much next to no European fans,” Lowry pointed out. “I think I was asking somebody only the other day, on average, how many European fans turn up to an away Ryder Cup, and they were saying something along the lines of 15 per cent.

“You’re still talking about 6,000, 7,000, 8,000 people a day will be cheering for you. So there will be pockets of European support that we will have and we will definitely need.

“It will be a bit different, and obviously, I feel like I’m a different player than I was in 2021, a lot more mature, and obviously got two Ryder Cups under my belt now. I feel like we’ll be as prepared a team as ever was going to an away Ryder Cup. A lot of confidence comes from preparation, so the next few weeks, with all the work that’s going to go into it, I think that will build confidence week by week in the team and in your fellow teammates that we can actually pull this off.”

European team for the 2025 Ryder Cup

American team for the 2025 Ryder Cup