“A nice blend of experience and rookies” - Luke Donald reveals Ryder Cup strategy and winning game plan for Team Europe

Luke Donald has his Ryder Cup team. Just shortly after every single American golfer was named to Zach Johnson's team, the European side has their full 12-man roster. The team is highlighted with top players being joined by what seems to be a lack of experience.

There are a few younger, more inexperienced players on the European side for Donald. He, however, doesn't see that as a downside. Rather, he believes his team is set up nicely as it is.

Donald said via Sky Sports:

"I think it's a really nice blend of experience and rookies. I think we have a slight, we're 21 Ryder Cups to America's 17, so I wouldn't say we don't have experience because we do, and we obviously have some superstars. Great to see those 12 all together now."

When asked about the potential pairings, he said:

"It's a little bit difficult because I certainly was looking until the last part. My decisions certainly weren't made up until that round was over. It's hard to figure out everything, but you know, obviously, I have had 13 months to try and think about some partnerships and that will be the focus the next couple of weeks."

Luke Donald went on to admit that his selections and the decisions he'll make moving forward have to be a mix of analytics and statistics with gut instinct. He's the captain for a reason, so his choices have to be smart. He's going to rely on his stellar instincts, but he's not going to ignore the data in front of him.

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Luke Donald aiming for variety in Ryder Cup roster

The United States hasn't won on European soil in quite some time at the Ryder Cup. The captain of Europe would like to keep it that way, and he set up his roster to do just that.

Luke Donald's team consists of:

• Rory McIlroy (qualifier)
• Jon Rahm (qualifier)
• Matt Fitzpatrick (qualifier)
• Viktor Hovland (qualifier)
• Tyrrell Hatton (qualifier)
• Robert MacIntyre (qualifier)
• Tommy Fleetwood (selection)
• Sepp Straka (selection)
• Justin Rose (selection)
• Shane Lowry (selection)
• Nicolai Hojaard (selection)
• Ludvig Aberg (selection)

They will be up against this United States team:

• Scottie Scheffler (qualifier)
• Wyndham Clark (qualifier)
• Brian Harman (qualifier)
• Patrick Cantlay (qualifier)
• Max Homa (qualifier)
• Xander Schauffele (qualifier)
• Brooks Koepka (selection)
• Jordan Spieth (selection)
• Cameron Young (selection)
• Collin Morikawa (selection)
• Keegan Bradley (selection)
• Sam Burns (selection)

There is a mix of experience with youth on the European side, whereas a veteran presence was clearly valuable to Zach Johnson. Ludvig Aberg just recently made the PGA Tour and he's been selected to join his companions in Italy.

Ludvig Aberg made Luke Donald's team

Francesco Molinari and Pablo Larrazabal were considered but did not make it over the other selections that Donald made. No LIV Golf player made it for the European side, while Brooks Koepka was added to the US team.

The Ryder Cup takes place at the end of the month. The competition will begin on September 29 and extend through the weekend on October 1.