Luke Donald comments on Keegan Bradley skipping playing captain role at Ryder Cup

Keegan Bradley spoke highly of Donald ahead of the upcoming Ryder Cup, and the Englishman has now responded to the American’s decision not to select himself as a player.

Speaking to BBC Sport, Donald said: “I’ve always tried to keep my leadership around things that I can influence and that was totally out of my control.”

“We know, he’s one of their best players. And if he played, he was going to be strong. We also knew that if he decided to do that, it was going to be a lot to try and juggle both.

“But they seem to have many plans in place. He’s made his decision. He’s decided that he has plenty of talent to replace him.

“I know Keegan well. He’s a good friend of mine and I understand that he’s going to bring a strong passion, he’s going to try and get his troops pretty fired up.”

Luke Donald suggests who he thinks are favorites to win the Ryder Cup

Quietly confident after their 2023 Rome victory, the visitors anticipate a difficult challenge at Bethpage Black, being aware that they are the away team and are facing quality opponents in New York

The hosts are expected to field a very strong team once again, with world number one Scottie Scheffler joined by fellow major winners Xander Schauffele and Bryson DeChambeau.

Suggesting who he thinks are favourites to come out on top at Bethpage, Donald said: 

“Obviously, on paper, they’re very strong. That home advantage is pretty good. So I still do believe we are underdogs.”

Given how little change there is from Europe’s squad for Rome 2023 – a tournament they won comfortably – there is reason for optimism.

Furthermore, strong team chemistry, both during play and off the course, is crucial for Ryder Cup success, and Team Europe have it.