European Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald feels his team will be the underdog at the upcoming biennial event as they will playing in the USA. The 2025 Ryder Cup will be held at Bethpage Black in Farmingdale, New York in the last week of September.
Luke Donald was the captain of the European team in 2023 and is the first to be named back-to-back captain since Bernard Gallacher in the 1990s. In a press conference with the Team captains at Times Center on Tuesday, October 8, Donald was asked if he considers his team the underdog. He said (via ASAP Sports),
"When you're playing an away Ryder Cup, I think you have to be the underdog. Just looking historically, Whistling Straits, the result there was very one-sided. Hazeltine was pretty one-sided; Valhalla. You know, we were fortunate to come back at Medinah."
In 2021, the US hosted the Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits in Wisconsin. The US won the tournament by 19-9. In 2016, the US hosted at Hazeltine in Minnesota and won by 17-11. The last time Europe won the Ryder Cup in the US was in 2014 at Medinah in Illinois.
Donald further said,
"But the last few times we've played away, the results have been pretty one-sided towards the US. Yes, in a tough environment, we will be the underdogs."
US Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley was asked if he agreed with Donald's view. He said that he was sure the European Ryder Cup team loves playing for Donald and the players will relish the challenge of coming to Bethpage to silence fans and home players. He added,
"It's a very unifying thing to be on a team and come into a hostile environment. We know that. We know how tough they are. We know how great of match play players they are, and how much they care about the Ryder Cup."
Bradley acknowledged that the US as the home team has a bit of an advantage but felt the European team will approach the tournament with a mindset of "us against the world," which can be challenging to compete against.
Luke Donald says that he has "lost the advantage" at the away Ryder Cup
Europe will be looking to defend their title in the 2025 Ryder Cup. They won the 2023 Ryder Cup by 16.5 - 11.5 held at Marco Simone Golf and Country Club, Guidonia Montecelio, Lazio.
In the recent presser, Luke Donald who led the European team in 2023, was asked about the most important lessons from his previous captaincy. He was also asked if there was anything different he would do this time compared to last. He said,
"Obviously it was a very successful campaign. We were successful in Rome and there was a lot of things that I did that I think will continue over into this captaincy. Of course, there's some changes."
He added,
"You know, it's one of the hardest things to do is to win an away Ryder Cup, and I'm going to have to adapt a little bit. Some of the advantages I had with home crowd support, I've lost that advantage. Setting up the golf course, I've lost that advantage."
Donald said that the 2025 Ryder Cup would be about finding different ways to counteract the disadvantages and turning them into something positive.
The European team has won 12 of the last 19 Ryder Cups with four of them in the United States. Overall, the US has won 27 Ryder Cups while Europe has won 12.
Here are the winners of the last 25 Ryder Cups with scores from 1983 to 2023:
- 2023: Europe (16.5–11.5)
- 2021: United States (19–9)
- 2018: Europe (17.5–10.5)
- 2016: United States (17–11)
- 2014: Europe (16.5–11.5)
- 2012: Europe (14.5–13.5)
- 2010: Europe (14.5–13.5)
- 2008: United States (16.5–11.5)
- 2006: Europe (18.5–9.5)
- 2004: Europe (18.5–9.5)
- 2002: Europe (15.5–12.5)
- 1999: United States (14.5–13.5)
- 1997: Europe (14.5–13.5)
- 1995: Europe (14.5–13.5)
- 1993: United States (15–13)
- 1991: United States (14.5–13.5)
- 1989: Tied (14–14, Europe retains)
- 1987: Europe (15–13)
- 1985: Europe (16.5–11.5)
- 1983: United States (14.5–13.5)
- 1981: United States (18½–9½)
- 1979: United States (17–11)
- 1977: United States (12½–7½)
- 1975: United States (21–11)
- 1973: United States (19–13)
- 1971: United States (18½–13½)