Luke Donalds Ryder Cup captaincy can be key for…
The two most disappointing cellphone calls between Luke Donald and Pat Goss — a relationship that began in 1997, when Donald golfed for Goss at Northwestern University — concerned the Ryder Cup. One adopted Donald not making Team Europe’s 2014 roster despite already gathering 4 victories in the match. Then, around a decade later, Donald was devastated after Henrik Stenson earned the captain nod for Rome in 2023, considering he had a probability.
Captaining a Ryder Cup crew had always been a purpose for Donald. He’d collected a 7-1 document representing Great Britain and Ireland in the 1999 and 2001 Walker Cups to start developing his worldwide résumé, and after his first PGA Tour win as a rookie his focus shifted toward cracking the 2004 Ryder Cup roster. Still, even after all of the future success that adopted, it wasn’t clear if changing into a captain would be attainable, said Goss, who has served as Donald’s coach in some capability for most of the past two-plus a long time. Donald — self-described as considerably of an introvert — didn’t essentially have the standard captain’s character.
But then Stenson misplaced his captaincy after bolting for LIV Golf. Team Europe pivoted to Donald. And by the end of the weekend in Rome, from his spot in the second stage of seats 75 yards down the first fairway, Goss watched as European golfers began chanting “two more years” at Donald during the awards ceremony.
“That was the emotional, consequential moment, to me, of the whole event,” Goss said. “Just to know what he had invested in that, how hard he’s worked, how much he’d grown to become such a great inspirational leader, and then to get that validation back from your players, that’s as good as it gets.”
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