Ryder Cup: Inside story of Luke Donald's inspirational captaincy which helped Team Europe to victory
Sky Sports News' Jamie Weir spoke to four of the victorious European team from Marco Simone – Rory McIlroy, Shane Lowry, Matt Fitzpatrick and Bob MacIntyre – as well as one of the vice captains, Edoardo Molinari, about what exactly made Donald such a good captain
By Jamie Weir
Last Updated: 07/10/23 11:29am
Before any Ryder Cup the question is often posed: ‘what difference can a captain really make?’
After all, he can't hit any of the shots. He can't stand over an eight-footer on the 18th green with all three results still possible and make that putt.
What he can do, however, is create the best possible environment for the players to go out there and do their stuff. He can mould a happy and harmonious team room where every player knows the other 11 have his back. He can use the data to devise a strategy and give the team the optimum chance of securing points. He can spend the months beforehand building bonds with players, making them feel comfortable and at ease and - particularly in the case of rookies - like they truly belong.
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History is often so binary in how it remembers captains. Winning captain equals good captain, losing captain equals bad captain. The truth is always far more nuanced.
Sam Torrance was a man-manager, a people-person whose inspirational, Churchillian team talks would have players ready to run through the proverbial brick wall. Paul McGinley took the art of captaincy to a new level; his meticulous approach and attention to detail was borne on the principle of marginal gains. Thomas Bjorn put his full trust in the data and stuck to the gameplan. 'Trust the process' was his mantra and his air of calmness and blind faith permeated throughout the team.
Luke Donald did all the above, and more. A leader whose even-keeled composure left his entire team in no doubt: "We've got this". It's why, for the first time since Bernard Gallacher won the Ryder Cup at the third time of asking in 1995, people are seriously considering the incumbent staying in the role for another two years.
"He just filled us with so much confidence. Everything he told us just made us believe 'we're going to beat them'," Rory McIlroy, who, having now played under seven different captains, is in a better position than anyone on last week's victorious team to draw comparisons, told Sky Sports.
"He's probably the first captain since Paul McGinley, for me, who's really set us up for success. I've always said McGinley was hands down the best captain I've played under, but Luke was a close second to that. Luke treated it like a full-time job, just like McGinley did, just like Thomas Bjorn did.
"My dad has always said to me 'Rory, anything you do in life, you'll get out of it what you put into it'. That's always been my approach and looking at Luke that's exactly what happened. He put a tonne into it and the results showed.
"Whether we got high or low, he was super calm and even keeled. That's very much Luke. That's not him putting that on. We've got 20 years of evidence to suggest that's just him. I'd describe his leadership as 'quiet confidence'."
McIlroy's assessment of Donald treating the captaincy like a full-time job is on the money. He was a sponge and sought advice from several past captains, sitting down over dinner and picking their brains. He had the self-awareness to acknowledge there were areas where he could improve, and received coaching in speaking and leadership.
He then made everything his own and stayed true to himself. He was a truly authentic leader, something which Shane Lowry and Matt Fitzpatrick were able to recognise too.
"He was very thorough," Lowry said of Donald. "He doesn't say much but when he says something it means a lot. When he does open his mouth, you listen. He left no stone unturned.
"Any time he spoke it was always short and to the point. It was never drawn out or directed at any individual person. It was: 'this is how we're going to do it, this is how we're going to win it'."
Fitzpatrick added: "I just knew he was going to be good from day one. Just seeing the way he operates and how hard he works, his communication and organisation was second to none.
"Luke just had a calmness about him. I don't think his voice changed all week. Never loud or angry. I thought I'd be more nervous than I was, but I think Luke's influence just made everyone feel calm and that was what was so impressive. He's so well-spoken, he's so thoughtful with his answers, very considered."
Fitzpatrick agrees that he is somewhat of a lone wolf, that he approaches the game in his own way and was unsure how he'd feel in the team environment, despite this being his third Ryder Cup.
"It's a very different dynamic," The former US Open champion said. "I've never learnt that more than this last week. I just felt more of a connection with the whole team.
"Luke played a bit on the fact you're not just playing for the guys in the team; you're playing for your wives, your families, support staff, coaches, the fans and I do think that's really powerful."
Robert MacIntyre, one of Team Europe's rookies, saw similarities between Donald the captain and Donald the player.
"He was very cool, calm and collected - just as he was in his playing career really," MacIntyre told Sky Sports. "It was a quiet, understated but inspirational kind of leadership.
"When I missed the cut in France my confidence dropped way low. He phoned me up just to check how I was and tell me not to worry, just to focus on the week coming up."
The Team Trip
Everyone I speak to is unanimous that the foundations were laid with the team trip to Marco Simone Golf and Country Club two weeks before the Ryder Cup.
They were only there for 24 hours, but after playing the course during the day, the entire team sat round a firepit that night and shared stories.
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"It put us all on the same level," says McIlroy. "I shared my vulnerabilities and inspirations, I got emotional. It was an amazing night.
"I didn't know Rahmbo's [Jon Rahm] background for example, how he got into the game. Rosey [Justin Rose] and I had a similar upbringing with our parents making sacrifices for us.
"With Europe, we're all from different backgrounds, we have different beliefs, it's not like we can rally around one flag. So, what can we build a culture around? We can build it around our journeys in the game and what the Ryder Cup means to us."
Lowry added: "The practice trip was huge. The younger lads got to feel comfortable around the likes of Rory, Jon and Viktor. When we got together again, it was like we'd never been apart. We just picked up where we'd left off."
It was not just the players who benefitted, with vice captain Eduardo Molinari feeling the off-course team gained some valuable insights too.
"It was so emotional at some points," Molinari told Sky Sports. "In that hour I felt everyone got to know each other, understand each other, feel part of something unique."
The vice captains
Donald also assembled the perfect blend of vice captains, each with a specific and defined role.
Molinari was his right-hand man when it came to all the data and analytics, and reveals that the game plan for day one - morning foursome pairings, afternoon fourball pairings, even the order in which they'd go out - was devised almost three weeks before a ball was struck.
"The week of the Irish Open, Luke and I went to dinner five nights out of six," Molinari said. "Every night we were starting from scratch.
"I missed the cut but on Friday night I was up until 1am thinking and on Saturday night we went to dinner, and we thought 'right, we've nailed it now'. Players whose stats and personalities match, no ball issues in the foursomes, everyone on course on the first day. After the week of Ireland, I felt: 'We have a plan in place, now it's time to execute'."
Only one of the pairings they devised had been seen before - Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton two years ago at Whistling Straits, and even then only for one fourballs session.
Every other pairing was entirely new, and all down to Donald and Molinari's meticulous planning. A few in particular stood out.
"I cannot see how Ludvig [Åberg] and Viktor [Hovland] can be beaten in foursomes," Molinari said.
"You pair someone like Viktor who's one of the best three iron players in the world with someone who gives them an extra 15 yards off the tee. They could become one of the greatest Ryder Cup partnerships ever.
"On the course they were speaking in Swedish together and little things like that just put the Americans off a bit. They don't know if they're happy or unhappy, if they're talking about what they're going to hit into the next hole or what they're having for dinner - small things, but it makes a huge difference.
"With Bob and Rosey, people thought 'oh they're just sending them out there because they have to' but no, we knew Rosey was putting so well and making birdies and that Bob loves to go out there and make birdies.
"We have two players that like each other, who both make a lot of birdies. We were very confident they'd bring in points and they did."
MacIntyre admits being put together with Rose was a pairing which took him by surprise.
"It was way outside where I was looking," MacIntyre said. "I didn't see that one coming.
"There are obviously stats that back it up, and the mix of experience and non-experience, but as soon as Rosey and I got going it all made sense."
Fitzpatrick, someone who painstakingly pores over data looking to eek out any advantage he can as well, is a huge admirer of Molinari.
"I'm closest with Edoardo," Fitzpatrick said. "I think it's integral that we have him and his stats team locked in for the next three or four Ryder Cups, because that's where we do have an edge."
Then there was Edoardo's little brother, Francesco, Italy's only major champion and most-decorated golfer of all time.
Having him involved was something of a no-brainer. When he did not have the season he had hoped for as a player, vice-captaincy was the next best thing.
"Tommy felt very comfortable having him around," Edoardo said. "In some shape or form he was always going to be there for a Ryder Cup in Italy."
Lowry added: "You don't realise how funny Francesco is until you get to know him."
Nicolas Colsaerts was brought in to fulfil two roles; primarily as the go-to vice-captain for any players who, like him, play predominantly on the DP World Tour, but secondly as something of a 'hype man' - an ebullient character who could rile up the crowds.
"Nico was my babysitter," says MacIntyre. "Not just last week but in the three weeks building up to it. He was always on the phone to me, checking up on me. He's got a similar style of personality to me."
McIlroy noticed the impact Colsaerts had too, saying: "Nico makes the likes of Bob and Nicolai [Hojgaard] comfortable, he keeps them loose, and you saw how he got the crowd going too."
Molinari concurs: "Nico loved going on the first tee and doing the thunderclap. He was always making sure players were comfortable."
Completing the vice-captaincy ranks were two former victorious captains, each of whom brought a wealth of experience and a steady assuredness.
"Thomas [Bjorn] was very helpful in providing Luke with directions on what he was required to do," Molinari said.
"He'd tell him a few months before that he'd have to start thinking about certain things. Even on the Friday it was Thomas who said 'I think you should come out for everyone teeing off and then go and watch some of the TV coverage' and that's exactly what he did. He followed Thomas's advice."
For Lowry, Bjorn's mere presence helped enormously.
"I was in a bit of a dogfight on Sunday and Thomas was there for the entire back nine," the Irishman said. "He didn't even need to say anything. Just having him there made me feel assured."
And then there was Jose-Maria Olazabal.
"We initially brought him in for Jon, as we knew he'd miss having [fellow Spaniard] Sergio [Garcia] there," Molinari.
"His passion for the Ryder Cup is unreal. He cried more last week than in the last five years, poor Chema.
"Some of the stories he told at dinner or in team meetings were just incredibly inspiring. He lives and dies for the Ryder Cup."
Donald had of course played under Olazabal for 2012's Miracle at Medinah. Justin Rose was on that team, as was McIlroy.
"He tapped into the emotion of the event," McIlroy said. "He told Seve [Ballesteros] stories every night. Any time Olly spoke, you could hear a pin drop. Everyone was just hanging on every word he said."
That is an opinion shared by MacIntyre.
"He and Seve made the Ryder Cup what it is," MacIntyre said. "What he said really rubbed off on me: 'no matter how you're playing, just stay in the dogfight'.
"That's kind of the way I play golf - I just fight. It's not flash, it's not beautiful, but I'm gritty."
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Lowry was another who found himself being in awe of Olazabal.
"That was an absolute winner having Jose-Maria," Lowry said. "He spoke on Thursday night and I could have walked out through the wall right there and then.
"Every time I looked at him he was nearly crying, that's how much the Ryder Cup means to him.
"Luke's an amazing captain, but what no one sees is the vice-captains, the caddies, the caddie-masters, the physios - we have a load of people in the team room. You feel like you're a family of about 50 people."
The senior players
Along with leaning on his five vice-captains, a masterstroke from Donald was investing his more established superstars to 'big up' the younger players, and in particular the rookies.
"Luke made sure Rory played with Ludvig at Wentworth," Molinari said. "Rory was talking up Ludvig's game publicly and that gave him great belief.
"Jon was always high-fiving and hugging Nicolai and treating him like his best friend; it was the same with Rosey and Bob.
"He did it through the players and it really felt like everyone was each other's best friend and belonged in that team room That's because of Luke behind the scenes making sure the top players bought into it".
Molinari was blown away in particular by how invested McIlroy was.
"Walking down 18 on Sunday I hugged Rory and I said 'I cannot believe how much this meant to you'," the Italian said.
"He was so motivated, so into it. Giving encouragement to the younger guys, he really went out of his way to make people feel comfortable, it was incredible to witness.
"That's a lot down to Luke, letting Rory know what he needed from him and Rory just buying into it 100 per cent."
Lowry believes the absence from the team room of the likes of LIV Golf trio Lee Westwood, Ian Poulter and Sergio Garcia - Ryder Cup stalwarts who've been the backbone of so much European success over the last two decades - helped give others a louder voice.
"No disrespect to those guys, they were amazing for Europe in Ryder Cups, but not having those guys there last week allowed Rory and Jon and Viktor to stand up and be counted," Lowry said. "I think it's time to look forward, we've created a new generation."
McIlroy goes along with this viewpoint, saying: "This is a new era and it let the younger guys flourish a bit. It gave myself, Jon and Viktor the chance to be the leaders of the team and lead with our ability.
"We needed our three best players to turn up and we did. We had more of an opportunity to flourish and to shine."
For players like Fitzpatrick and MacIntyre, the influence of those senior players proved vital.
"Rory was truly incredible with me from a supportive standpoint," Fitzpatrick said. "He was something else, and I appreciated that so much - and then you just watch Jon, Viktor or Tyrrell and you're just admiring how good they are.
"To have them on my team, I was just buzzing. That's what makes it special. It's the culture that's created."
Ryder Cup newcomer MacIntyre added: "I was a bit wary because I'd never been in that environment with those kind of guys. People like Rory and Jon are people I idolise.
"I know how shinty works, but I didn't know how an individual sport was going to come together into a team environment. It was amazing though, just incredible."
The little touches
McGinley is often seen as the gold standard when it comes to meticulous attention to detail, from bringing in speakers such as Sir Alex Ferguson, to having motivational pictures dotted around the team room, and even having a fish tank populated solely by blue and gold fish.
Donald's little flourishes did not go unnoticed either. On the Monday evening, each player received a video of heartfelt messages from their loved ones.
"I don't think there was one person who wasn't in tears," MacIntyre said. "It was just from our families about how we got here.
"Mine was from my mum. I watched it twice and I didn't make it to the end because I was in tears. It was incredible. There was so much fine detail that went into it. It was just absolutely perfect."
McIlroy was equally moved, saying: "The way the cadence of the week went they hit us with the emotion early with the videos from our loved ones, we had a bit of humour on Tuesday and Wednesday night and then on Thursday night it was like 'right, game faces on'."
Molinari added: "One cool visual in the team room was a display cabinet of the 12 replica trophies that the players would receive at the end of the week and in the middle was a gap. 'The goal of the week is to fill the gap with the real one' Luke said on Monday night."
Then came the opening ceremony on Thursday afternoon. Zach Johnson, clearly not a natural when it comes to public speaking, struggled through his speech, mangling the pronunciation of the three words in Italian he attempted and being drowned out at one stage by a flyover from the Italian air force.
By contrast, Donald's performance was polished, statesmanlike and began with two sentences delivered in near-flawless Italian.
"The 4-0 on the first morning starts with the opening speech," Molinari said. "Where we were sitting we could see the speech on the autocue and the first two sentences were in Italian. I thought 'surely that's a mistake, he's not going to say that'.
"Then his pronunciation was perfect and Francesco and I were almost in tears. You've got to be brave to do that in front of so many people watching, but he nailed it."
Lowry agreed: "When you're sitting on that opening ceremony stage and you hear your captain speak the way he spoke, it can only fill you full of confidence. I actually came off that stage thinking 'we're one up'."
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But having fired his players up, Donald then had the presence of mind he had to strike just the right tone before Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton stepped onto the first tee the following morning.
"It's all well and good showing you these videos and telling you how much we want to beat the Americans, but you don't want to be pumped up on the first tee," Fitzpatrick said. "You actually want to be the polar opposite and Luke managed to help us do that."
Molinari revealed Donald's approach, saying: "Every night we had short meetings just after dinner and the message was very clear and precise: 'this is the plan for tomorrow'.
"That's when the players perform; when they see that the leadership is so assured. When you see someone so calm and collected, it puts you at ease as a player, it puts you in a good place; there's no panic, they knew what the plan was and we stuck to it."
Two more years?
Donald's approach to captaincy should not have come as a surprise to anyone; it was exactly the same as his approach to playing the game. An understated assuredness, built on hard work and an eye for detail.
He was hugely underrated as a player, yet it takes something special within to become the world No 1 when you're giving up so much distance off the tee, especially in an era where length is increasingly becoming the key attribute for success.
His quiet, under-the-radar nature means his Ryder Cup playing record is often overlooked too. He's not the ebullient character that the likes of Seve, Monty, Poulter or Garcia were, but his points percentage is superior to all of those European greats.
He played in four Ryder Cups, was on the winning team on every occasion and his 10-4-1 record equates to a 70 points percentage. No one who has played in more than two Ryder Cups can boast a record as strong as that.
Last week, some of those who'd been overlooking Donald for the entirety of his golfing career, perhaps finally saw him in a different light. On Sunday, in the Roman early evening sunshine, as Donald held the Ryder Cup aloft on the first tee, surrounded by his twelve victorious players, Shane Lowry began a chant that grew in volume.
"Two more years… two more years… two more years…"
For over a quarter of a century, it's been something of an unwritten rule that captains only get one bite at the cherry. But with a number of names seemingly ruled out from taking on the captaincy after their defection to LIV, and such a groundswell of support behind the incumbent, could Donald be tempted by another shot?
It seems the decision is up to him. If he wants it, the gig's his.
"I've only been involved in two Ryder Cups," says Molinari, "but speaking to all the vice-captains who have so many between them, they all say: Luke was hands-down the best captain ever.
"The amount of time, the little details, the thoughts that he had… it was just incredible and unheard of. He deserves this and he deserves it again in two years time."
It is the same as far as those involved on the playing side are concerned.
"If he wants it next time, we would absolutely love him to do it again," McIlroy said. "We've got the blueprint for winning at home, let's now work on the blueprint for winning away. It's going to be nasty and tough in Bethpage, it's going to be really difficult to play in that environment. But if we can be prepared and try to neutralise that disadvantage, that would be huge."
Lowry concurs, saying: "We have created a great blueprint for a home Ryder Cup and it would be a good idea to have him again. He's got a plan there and he knows how to execute it. The 12 players would absolutely love to have him do it again.
Fitzpatrick is totally in agreement as well, adding: "As Rory said it's one of the hardest things to do in sport, to win an away Ryder, but if you've got a captain who already knows how to win, you're giving yourself the best chance. You've got the foundations in place, it's a no-brainer"
The last word goes to Bob MacIntyre, who's also fully behind Donald keeping the job and just hopes he'll be part of the team that heads to New York two years from now.
He did not ask his captain during Sunday night's celebrations whether he was tempted to stay on, but they did speak.
"I just thanked him for giving me a chance and trusting in me when I was doubting myself," MacIntyre said. "That's Luke."
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