European Ryder Cup Captain lays out grand plan to deal with potentially rowdy crowds at Bethpage
European Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald recently shared his thoughts on the large crowd expected for the 2025 Ryder Cup. The upcoming edition of the biennial tournament will take place in New York, where Team USA and Team Europe will face off in this prestigious three-day event.
During a recent press conference, Ryder Cup captains Keegan Bradley and Luke Donald discussed their plans for the tournament. In an interview with Taylor Zarzour, European Team captain Donald opened up about his approach to handling the rowdy crowd at Bethpage.
"I have seen New York is a sort of melting pot. You know, there is a lot of culture, a lot of opportunities here. That's why I love living in the US, to grab opportunities for me and my family. And we certainly love that represents. I think, you know, New York is, they love cheering on their home guys, but they love cheering winners too. And, you know, we will see who the winner is at the end of the Ryder Cup," Donald said.
The last Ryder Cup was held at the Marco Simone Golf and Country Club in Rome, Italy, where Team Europe performed brilliantly, winning 16.5 to 11.5. However, the U.S. team has not lost a match on their home soil since 2016.
They secured victories in 2016 in Minnesota and again in 2021 in Wisconsin. The upcoming iteration of the Ryder Cup will take place at Bethpage Black Course in New York from 25 to 28 September 2025.
"I'm very excited about the opportunity"- European Ryder Cup Captain sets his eyes on the biennial tournament
Luke Donald has a successful record as the captain of the European Team. Under his guidance, the team won the tournament on their home soil in 2023.
Donald will serve as the European team captain again in 2025, for the second time in a row, and he is excited about the event. During the recent press conference, while talking about the biennial tournament, Donald said, via ASAP Sports:
"It's really a great honor, a blessing. I've said it many times that that moment when we won in Rome was the best and the highlight of my career, and to hear those 12 guys shout two more years was certainly, for me, a personal moment of joy and honor that they would want me to come back and represent them again as captain. So I'm very excited about the opportunity to be here in New York, and I can't wait for it to all kickoff in just under a year's time."
Notably, the last time the tournament was held in the USA, in 2021, the home team defeated the European Team by ten points. Team USA played fabulously, scoring 19 points, while Team Europe managed 9.
Dustin Johnson, who plays on LIV Golf, went 5-for-5 to help the U.S. team win the event. The tournament will return to the USA in 2025, and it will be interesting to see who will prevail this time.