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CHARLOTTE, N.C. — European Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald said the anticipated intensity of the crowds at Bethpage will factor into whom he chooses as captain’s picks.
“I will certainly give a little bit more importance to experience, people who have been able to handle those big moments under the most scrutiny [like in] major championships,’’ he said. “It will be something that could give someone an edge if they’re on a very similar playing field in terms of statistics.’’
One compelling dynamic that hangs over the Ryder Cup, more for Europe than the U.S., is whether the players who joined LIV Golf will be eligible to play.
Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton, who were on the past three European teams, have appealed sanctions imposed by the DP World Tour, which requires them to play a minimum of four starts on that circuit to remain members of the tour and be considered for the Ryder Cup.
A third-party arbiter is supposed to hear LIV players’ appeals of fines and suspensions.
When Donald was asked Wednesday about Rahm’s and Hatton’s status as possible members of his team, he said, “That’s a question for Guy Kinnings,’’ referring to the DP World Tour commissioner.
“I do not get involved with the politics of that. My concentration is to get the best 12 players to New York, and hopefully everyone is eligible. I would love for them to be eligible, but I’m not involved in that process. I think Guy knows that I want my best 12, let’s put it that way. But I haven’t talked to him about that.’’
Donald said he’s had “zero conversations’’ about whether the players will be eligible.
U.S. captain Keegan Bradley didn’t seem as concerned with the situation, saying, “No one cares about what’s going on in PGA Tour-LIV. We’re trying to put the best team together.”
One of Donald’s players is Sepp Straka, who was a captain’s pick in 2023 and locked up a spot in the top six with his win at the Truist Championship last week.
Straka is a rare Austrian player playing on the PGA Tour. He said the response from his home country has been “really amazing.’’
“Austria has grown as a golf country since I was a little kid,’’ he said Wednesday. “It’s definitely not one of the major sports in Austria — pretty limited with the seasons. But they’re definitely golf crazy, and it’s awesome to see the support that I get from Austria.
“Every week, there’s somebody from Austria in the crowd that’s rooting me on, or I get messages from friends. It’s really cool to see kind of the support from Austria.’’
Donald praised Straka, saying, “He was picked for a reason in ’23. He’s sort of proven that he deserves to be thought of as one of the best European players. Just cool, calm, collected, doesn’t get too bothered by things, very consistent game, great putter.
“We saw that on Sunday. He just sort of did what he knows he can do. Didn’t seem to get too up, too down. Played extremely well. He’s just a very, very consistent ball striker. He works hard on his game. There’s not too many weaknesses in his game.’’
Rory McIlroy on Wednesday addressed why he didn’t speak to Bryson DeChambeau as they played together in the final round of the Masters, something DeChambeau brought to light after the tournament was over.
“I don’t know what he was expecting,’’ McIlroy said. “We’re trying to win the Masters. I’m not going to try to be his best mate out there. Look, everyone approaches the game different ways. I was focused on myself and what I needed to do. That’s really all that it was.
“It wasn’t anything against him … it’s just I felt that’s what I needed to do to try to get the best out of myself that day.’’
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