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Luke Donald has been named the captain of Team Europe for the Ryder Cup in 2023, which will take place in the fall of this year. It's uncommon but not impossible for the captain of a team to play on the team with their teammates.
It hasn't happened in a while, and Donald doesn't believe it's going to happen any time soon, either. According to Golf Monthly, he dismissed the idea, saying:
“[It was] 1975 I think the last time that happened. No, we are a long way from that."
It hasn't happened since 1961, but regardless, it's been a very long time since a captain doubled as a member of the team for the Ryder Cup.
He did admit that he felt like he was playing well, as evidenced by the 64 he shot at the Abu Dhabi HSBC championship:
“I actually came into this year with higher expectations than I had in a while just for my own game. You know when you're swinging reasonably well. I feel like I've done some good work on my long game with Jamie Gough, and I've done some good work with my short game with Pat Goss."
He continued:
“And to be honest, I feel like my game is in a pretty good spot. It's not totally surprising that I shot 64 today. I went out there, again, last couple days, I've been hitting it nicely, swinging well, and it was nice to carry that on today.”
He still doesn't plan on making his own team, but it could happen:
"My goal in September is to have 12 guys that are unified and playing their best. I'm excited to be here this week, I'll be playing next week and I'm looking forward to seeing the guys who are wanting to be here, trying to earn points and make the team."
The event isn't for several months, so there's plenty of time for the best players to rise above and claim their spot on the team.
How does Luke Donald feel about his potential Ryder Cup team?
Potential awkwardness aside, there are a lot of good players primed for an appearance on Team Europe. That may not leave room for Luke Donald, but he's not worried about that.
"The changing of the guard happens all the time," he added. "I'm not too worried having the 20 guys last week and the tremendous talent on display. They're good golfers, equally good enough to compete and win a Ryder Cup in September.
"We have a good depth of young players, we have some people who have been there before who are playing great and are high up on those lists, so we're off to a great start."
After the former captain moved to LIV Golf, Donald was named team captain. In an ironic twist, Henrik Stenson, who was previously the captain, is going to potentially be part of the team.
It could provide some tough scenarios for Team Europe, but Luke Donald is ready and excited about what the future holds.
