Some dates in the history of professional golf in the United Kingdom and mainland Europe are written in stone. In October 1971, John Jacobs, the great instructor, was appointed director general of the PGA, which is considered to be the start of the European (now DP World) Tour. In July 2007, Seve Ballesteros, then 50, announced his retirement from professional golf. Big sigh, a sad day all round.
But the 13th-15th January 2023? Those few days marked the staging of the Hero Cup, a successor to the Seve Trophy, a team event that pits Great Britain and Ireland against the Continent of Europe. At that time Luke Donald had been Europe’s Ryder Cup captain for only a few months, but with his trademark attention to detail he put his fingerprints all over the Hero Cup. As a result it can be said that what happened in Abu Dhabi in the first month of 2023 had considerable relevance to Europe’s victory in the Ryder Cup in the ninth month of 2023 in Rome.
Donald’s influence was noticeable in the players who were chosen, the captains, some of the pairings. He put players on notice that they were being considered for places in his team. He brought in former Ryder Cup captains José María Olazábal, Paul McGinley and Thomas Bjørn to talk to the competitors. It wasn’t a dress rehearsal because he did not know the constitution of his team in Rome but it was a very worthwhile learning process for Donald, his vice captains, and DP World Tour and Ryder Cup Europe officials.
An often-asked question is why Europe has not lost a Ryder Cup at home since 1993 and won three matches in the US in that time. I have a ready answer – it is that Europe tries harder. As Avis has to do better in order to compete with Hertz, so Europe has to try and outthink, outprepare and probably outspend the US, always a stronger team on paper.
To get a better idea of how this is done, watch “Una Famiglia” [One Family], the DP World Tour’s documentary about the triumph in Rome. It is fascinating.
I suspect you had little idea how much time and effort Diane Donald put into her husband’s campaign? The film tells you. Did you know that each Ryder Cup player was given a number and told the following: “Nearly 2,500 people have completed solo crossings of the [English] channel. As of November 2024, 676 people have journeyed to space. Only 161 men have represented GB&I or Europe in this competition. How does that make you feel?”
“It gives me, some of my vice-captains and the tour staff the opportunity to spend time with these players and embed them into the ‘One Family’ culture even if they do not ultimately go on to represent Team Europe next September.”
Luke Donald
Donald wrote earlier this month in his Worldwide Golf column: “The one family culture of Team Europe … has been forged over many years and been passed down from generation to generation of European Ryder Cup players … (it) underpins the ethos that the Ryder Cup is about being part of something bigger than yourself.”
Further evidence of Europe’s drive for success in the biennial event is that there is a Ryder Cup Europe department at the DP World Tour who work only on that event. As the cheers from Europe supporters in Rome were still being heard, this department was turning its collective attention not only to Bethpage Black this September but to Adare Manor in 2027. The DP World Tour spends tens of millions of pounds on the Ryder Cup and successful home Ryder Cups give an enviable return on that money. For example, the commercial revenue from Rome in 2023 was three times as much as that from the event in Paris in 2018.
Now we come to another important date – 10th-12th January 2025, this past weekend in other words, when the latest edition of the event that is now known as the Team Cup took place in Abu Dhabi. “It gives vital experience of team matchplay to some of the DP World players hoping to make the 12-man Ryder Cup team later in the year,” Donald said.
“It gives me, some of my vice-captains and the tour staff the opportunity to spend time with these players and embed them into the ‘One Family’ culture even if they do not ultimately go on to represent Team Europe next September. That is important because while my goal is to win in New York, it’s also to build a foundation for players to make future Ryder Cup teams.”
All that happened two years ago occurred again in Abu Dhabi this past weekend – only more so and better. McGinley, Olazábal and Bjørn were there, dispensing humour and expertise. So were Nicolas Colsaerts, the cerebral Belgian, and Edoardo Molinari, the statistical expert. Justin Rose captained Great Britain and Ireland to assess his performance and thus chances of captaining Europe at Adare Manor. Most of all, Donald was everywhere, quietly watching, listening, thinking about it all. In Donald, still waters run deep. Again and again he was asking himself: “What can I do better this time than I did last time? What lessons have I learned from Rome that will be applicable in New York?”
These men represent an important weapon in Europe’s armoury that has nothing to do with their skill at hitting a golf ball. That weapon is heritage. Listen to what Bjørn said two years ago and consider the effect of these words on the competitors then and on their successors this past weekend: “We’re done. We’ve taken this tour to where it is now and now it’s your turn to take over the mantle.”
The result of the 2025 Team Cup, a decisive 17-8 victory for Great Britain and Ireland over the Continent of Europe, does not matter much in the grand scheme of things. Far more important will be what so many players and officials have gained. If past experience is anything to go by, the dividend on this considerable investment will be paid at Bethpage in September. If Europe wins, and I am not prepared to bet against it even though the odds on this taking place are long, what happened in the Middle East this past weekend will have contributed significantly to that victory.
E-MAIL JOHN
Top: Luke Donald had his hands all over the Team Cup at Abu Dhabi Golf Resort.
KATE McSHANE, GETTY IMAGES