Luke Donald's attention to detail perhaps the most vital aspect to Europe's Ryder Cup win

FARMINGDALE, N.Y. – After the European team won the Ryder Cup 15-13 on Sunday, Shane Lowry, who secured the half point that ensured his team would retain the Cup, posted a photo on social media of himself with a look of satisfaction sitting in a comfy chair and cradling the 17-inch golden trophy. He wrote, “Life-long dream today.” 

But the most interesting part of the photo was positioned above Lowry’s head, where painted in large block letters in maroon and white was a quote from U.S. Captain Keegan Bradley: “WE ARE GOING TO GO TO BETHPAGE TO KICK THEIR F-ING ASS.”

As soon as those words were spoken in the winning team room of the American side at the 2024 Presidents Cup and captured in the Netflix documentary “Full Swing,” to close this season’s final episode, European team captain Luke Donald had bulletin material. Following the philosophy of go big or go home, he blew those words up across an entire wall in the European team room so that every player, caddie and person with a connection to his team couldn’t miss it. No detail slipped by the wily captain, who Bradley, during his losing team’s press conference, went so far as to declare “the best captain ever.”

During the winning team’s press conference on Sunday, Jon Rahm had an apt description for Donald, tabbing him “the captain of this ship.” 

“He's led us better than I can see anybody leading us,” Rahm said. “He set the bar extremely high for the future captains.”

Donald became the first captain to win back-to-back Ryder Cups since Tony Jacklin in 1985 and 1987.

“Anybody else interested in following that?” a reporter asked. “What do you think makes Luke as good as he is?”

“Just have a good 12 guys,” the always modest Donald interjected.

“No, it's more than that,” Rory McIlroy said. “His communication skills…”

“Let's not give it away,” Shane Lowry cut in. “How about that?”

“I'll shut up,” McIlroy said.

“Let it be, Rory. Let it be,” Robert MacIntyre added.

“The thing that's most inspiring is to see how he's grown as a leader as well,” Justin Rose said.

“Yeah,” McIlroy agreed.

“I think over the course of four years, there's been a bit more commitment to himself and to the team,” Rose continued. “It's been unbelievable to witness.”

“Two more years,” Rahm said.

“Let's do it again in Ireland,” Lowry said. Laughter ensued.

“No comment,” Donald said.

The continuity of having Donald remain captain for a second tour of duty was a no-brainer and after winning on foreign soil after taking a commanding seven-point lead into Sunday singles and holding off a furious comeback for a 15-13 victory, Donald joins the pantheon not just of great Ryder Cup captains but great sports leaders.

“We knew New York was not going to be easy,” Donald said. “It was rough. It was brutal at times out there. It really was. It was nasty sometimes.

“But I think when you prep these guys enough and you communicate enough with these guys and you give them a plan and an idea and a theme and a motivation, they don’t really need motivating, but you know, the theme causes the cohesion of the team. My job is literally to give these guys a better chance to win. It can be as simple as some very small things.”

Donald proceeded to offer a few examples. The doors to their hotel rooms at the Garden City Hotel? Donald said they had a big crack that let in light. 

“We brought things that covered the light. We put different shampoos that had a better smell."

“Le Labo, if anyone is wondering,” McIlroy interjected as his teammates laughed. “Really, really nice.”

“We won’t need to change the bed linen at Adare Manor, I can tell you that,” Lowry said of the fancy resort hosting the 2027 Ryder Cup. 

“No, €1500 [roughly $1760 in U.S. dollars] a night,” Donald said.

Another example: “The practice shirts were based off the wins we had already had away: '87, '95, '04, '12. Everything we did was sort of centered around that, and to make the guys feel that we had done it quite often. We wanted to inspire them to know it could be done.”

Donald’s vice-captain, Jose Maria Olazabal, also showed that their jerseys had the silhouette of Seve Ballesteros, Europe's inspirational leader in Ryder Cup lore, sewn on the inside of the shirt.

“It’s just taking the time and having the care that you want to do everything you can to kind of give these guys the best opportunity. You want to create an environment where they can succeed. These are 12 amazing players, we know that. You’re just trying to, again, put them in a position where they feel comfortable,” Donald said.

In ways both big and small, Donald lives up to his words from his opening ceremony speech that he was leading a “team defined by history, by unity and by belief that we are playing for something far greater than ourselves.” Speaking once more of his attention to detail, let’s not forget that Donald took classes to learn enough Italian to deliver part of his speech in the language in Rome flawlessly two years ago and had enough self-awareness not to attempt a Long Island accent this go-round. 

“He's really quiet, and I think he was able to kind of come out of his shell, I guess, a little in these Ryder Cup years,” Bradley said. “I think he turned this European Team into a really unstoppable force, especially the first two days, and you know, in my eyes, I think he's the best European Ryder Cup captain ever. I was really excited to go up against him, but I knew it was going to be tough to beat him. He put his team in the best position to win, and to do that at these two places is a remarkable feat.”

When Donald was pressed again by a journalist whether he’d sign up for two more years if asked, his 12 players pounded the table in unison and started chanting, two more years!

Donald demurred. “My answer is I'm going to enjoy tonight.”

This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Luke Donald attention to detail critical to Europe's 2025 Ryder Cup win