“A perk that the Ryder Cup captain gets” – Luke Donald gets candid about his role at PGA Championship

Luke Donald had a stellar start to the 2025 PGA Championship at Quail Hollow on Thursday. The 47-year-old golfer ranked 871st in the world, shot a 4-under-par 67 and sat T4 at the end of round 1 in the leaderboard. Speaking about the big round, the ace golfer reiterated he’s at the competition only because of his European Ryder Cup captain role.

Donald admitted he was pleasantly surprised with his opening round performance. This was the golfer’s best first-round score in a major since 2004. The 5-time PGA Tour winner said he isn’t surprised the media is more interested in the European skipper role.

The golfer, who missed the cut in the last five tournaments he’s played in, said the PGA Championship invite itself was a ‘perk the Ryder Cup captain gets.’

Replying to a media query on facing more questions on possible Ryder Cup players’ games instead of his, Luke Donald said, as quoted by ASAP Sports:

“Well, that's what I signed up to. You know, as I said, I'm here only because I'm captain of the European Ryder Cup Team. I wouldn't be in this field otherwise. It's a nice invitation and a perk that the Ryder Cup Captain gets."

"I understand that. I understand that my game isn't where it used to be, and that is the focus. So it really doesn't bother me one bit.”

It is pertinent to note that Donald is admittedly focused on readying the European Team for Bethpage Black. Ahead of the major, the skipper had said he was looking forward to watching possible players who could help his side to a second consecutive Ryder Cup victory.

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Luke Donald dubs PGA Championship round a ‘pleasant surprise’

Both Ryder Cup captains made big moves on Day 1 of the 2025 PGA Championship. While US Team skipper Keegan Brandley sat T9 after the opening round, Luke Donald’s 67 helped him settle T4 on the leaderboard. Following the round, the European captain dubbed it a ‘pleasant surprise’ and admitted he felt good about parts of his game.

Speaking at the 107th PGA Championship, Luke Donald said:

“Obviously very pleased with the score, bogey-free in a major… So, you know, obviously I've been trending with all the missed cuts coming into this week. But no, it was a pleasant surprise. I got off to a really nice, steady start. I hit a bunch of fairways on the front nine which always makes me feel good about my game… I didn't hit a ton of greens today but my putter was really good.”

Donald went on to address his opposition team captain Bradley’s game as well. Interestingly, the Englishman lauded the latter’s form and said he’s ‘very capable’ of winning a good week. Donald also backed the conversation around the US skipper being a ‘playing captain’ at Bethpage while dismissing himself for the added role.

Replying to a media query about Bradley sitting 3-under after round 1, Luke Donald said:

“Keegan is top 20 in the world. He can have one good week out here, win, which he's very capable of, and he's absolutely in the conversation of being a playing captain… I don't think that's quite in my future, but Keegan, we live very close together. I see where he practices, and he practices very hard. He's still one of the top players in the world.”

It is noteworthy that Donald’s last win on the PGA Tour came in 2012 when he won the Transitions Championship in a playoff.