Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald showers praises on Roger Federer's Dartmouth commencement speech - "Worth 25 minutes of your time"
Luke Donald, the captain of the European Ryder Cup team, has declared his admiration for the commencement speech delivered by Roger Federer at the University of Dartmouth. The American university awarded Federer a Doctor of Humane Letters degree this past Sunday.
Luke Donald expressed his admiration on his personal X account (formerly Twitter), by posting the following text:
"Worth 25 minutes of your time. There are many common themes as to why successful people become successful. Roger gives some great insights and hints as to what these are."
Roger Federer received his doctorate 'honoris causa' and expressed his delight. According to the official website of the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), Federer called this recognition “my most unexpected victory ever.”
The former ATP world number one dedicated his speech to reflecting on the importance of hard work for success. “Effortless is a myth,” he said. He also spoke about his decision to end his professional career, something he referred to as his “graduation from tennis.”
Federer didn't miss the opportunity to give some tennis advice, either. He recommended paying attention to the differences in racquet grip depending on the hand involved. Additionally, he advised being extremely mindful of footwork:
"Switching from forehand to backhand should be easy... Also, remember it all starts with the footwork, and the take-back is as important as the follow-through. No, this is not a metaphor! It’s just good technique."
Recently, Roger Federer showed off his golf swing on his personal Instagram account, for which he received numerous praises, including from Luke Donald.
A look at Luke Donald's performance during the 2024 season
Luke Donald has played five tournaments on the PGA Tour during the current season. He has missed the cut in four of them, his best result of the year being the T68 finish at the PGA Championship. In the DP World Tour, he has played four events and has made the cut in all of them. His best result in Europe was finishing T20 at the Dubai Invitational, and he added another Top 25 at the Soudal Open (T24).
So far this season, Donald has spent a lot of time preparing for the 2025 Ryder Cup. A few weeks ago, Donald scouted the course that will host the event, (Bethpage Black) along with one of his vice captains, Edoardo Molinari. He also appointed Paul McGinley as special advisor to the team, while ratifying Molinari and Thomas Bjorn as two of his four vice-captains for the event.
Luke Donald has had an illustrious Ryder Cup career, with four victorious appearances as a player (2004, 2006, 2010, 2012). In 2023, he led the European team to victory at the Marco Simone Golf and Country Club in Rome, Italy, 16.5 to 11.5.