'It’s a Tough Environment,' Captain Luke Donald Admits Away Ryder Cup Will Be Difficult for Team Europe

Despite a dominating win in 2023, things will be different this time out. Not only is the 2025 event being played on a difficult course, such as the Bethpage in New York, but Team Europe does not have a good away record in the last decade.

It [an away Ryder Cup] is a different animal and it’s a different challenge… I’m very aware that we have lost three of the last four away Ryder Cups by significant margins and it’s a tough challenge. It’s a tough environment, but I’ve tried everything I can to give our team the best opportunity.

Luke Donald said on Sky Sports

Team Europe has not won on US soil since the “Miracle at Medinah” in 2012. They lost 17-11 in 2016 at the Hazeltine National Golf Club and were blown away 19-9 at the Whistling Straits in 2021.

Luke Donald opens up about an “emotional” conversation with Matt Wallace

One of the toughest things for a Ryder Cup captain is having the conversation with a player regarding them not making the team. Luke Donald opened up about the “emotional” conversation he had with Matt Wallace, who recently broke down in tears in his post-round interview.

This past weekend, Wallace was still pushing for a spot in the Ryder Cup. He was competing at the Omega European Masters at the Crans-sur-Sierre Golf Club in Switzerland as the defending champion. However, he would fall short in the defense of his title. Despite a score of 3-under 67 in the final round, he fell two shots behind Thriston Lawrence, who captured his second win in this tournament.

He would finish 12th in the standings behind Shane Lowry, Sepp Straka, Ludvig Aberg, Viktor Hovland, and Matt Fitzpatrick. All of these players were expected to be picked. This meant there was only one spot remaining. With Jon Rahm ranked 24th, it was likely that Wallace would get snubbed. During the post-round interview, he would break down in tears.

Donald would have the unfortunate phone call with Wallace later on and informed him that he would not be part of the team. While speaking on the Sky Sports Golf podcast, the former World No.1 admitted that the call with Wallace was difficult.

I called him 10 or 15 minutes after that emotional interview he did in Crans and I felt very emotional for him. It just shows to me what the Ryder Cup means to these guys and how they are trying to desperately make the team and be a part of it.

Luke Donald said

Wallace will now have to wait till 2027 to get a chance to represent Team Europe in this biennial tournament.

DP World Tour veteran unimpressed by Luke Donald’s picks

The answer that many golf fans were waiting for finally came on Monday. Luke Donald would reveal his 6 picks to complete the 12-man roster for the 2025 event. A DP World Tour veteran was seemingly left unimpressed by Donald’s choice of picks.

With his selection, names like Matt Wallace, Harry Hall, Marco Penge, and Sergio Garcia got snubbed by Donald. Taking to his X account, DP World Tour veteran Pablo Larrazabal took a jibe at the 2025 picks. He expressed that both Penge and Wallace deserved to be named ahead of the ones who were picked.

Again. @RyderCupEurope team will go with what captain Luke thinks is the best team. 0’0 players that play European Tour schedule so what’s the point? Marco Penge deserved a pick and Wallace deserved a pick but only 12 men play. Good luck in NJ…

Pablo Larrazabal on X

Larrazabal would sarcastically make another tweet and claimed that Luke Donald should have picked 61-year-old Miguel Angel Jimenez , who won 4 times on the PGA Champions Tour this year. Only time will tell whether his picks and tactics will work out once again or not.