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Luke Donald is the captain for the Ryder Cup, so his performances in any golf tournaments do not matter as such. He could, like his counterpart Keegan Bradley, play his way into a player-captain role, but that's not going to happen.
The events he does play and the performances he racks up do count for something, though. For the most part, they all award OWGR points. Donald has a world ranking, and it's subject to change after this weekend.
During the first round of the PGA Championship, Donald was ranked 871st in the world. This is primarily because he doesn't really play that often anymore. He plays in some Major championships and occasionally in regular tournaments, but that's largely it.
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So while he isn't getting points, every player near him in the standings that does play moves up, gradually pushing him further and further down. He was ranked 592nd at the end of last season, but the inactivity and poor play have pushed him down this year.
It doesn't help that when Donald does play, he struggles. He's missed the cut in his last four outings before today. He withdrew the one before that, and was T48 and T45 in the two events he actually made the cut in.
He is, however, poised for a possible jump up. At the PGA Championship, Donald's round is complete. He shot -4, which is one off the lead. He's tied for third, and if he stays anywhere near that on the leaderboard all four days, he'll likely move up hundreds of ranks.
Luke Donald isn't giving star player any Ryder Cup promises
Luke Donald will have to select six players this summer to be on his Ryder Cup team. Six automatic qualifiers will be selected for him, but he'll choose the others. He may face a tough decision with some LIV Golf players like Jon Rahm.
He was asked about Rahm making the team, and he said via Daily Mail:
"I haven't given anyone the nod. I think it's a little bit too early for that. Again, we have, very in-depth stats. We know exactly how these players are playing. We have a great idea of where they stack up against each other and against the US."
He maintains that it's far too early to assure anyone of a spot on the team with Signature Events and Major championships still to be played. Luke Donald said:
"In terms of Jon, he's one of the best players in the world, and I would expect him to be on that team, but I certainly haven't given him those assurances."
The captain wants all players to go out and earn a spot on the team.
