Luke Donald made excellent selection choice at the Ryder Cup which ended up proving vital for Europe’s victory

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Luke Donald can seemingly do no wrong as European Ryder Cup captain, having just led his team to back-to-back triumphs.

Donald clinched a “special” Ryder Cup win with Europe at Bethpage Black, where the visitors beat the USA 15-13.

He did something similar in Rome in 2023, when Team Europe secured a 16.5-11.5 Ryder Cup win over their fierce rivals.

Donald was meticulous with his Ryder Cup preparations, with that approach certainly paying off as he got the better of Keegan Bradley.

Such preparations will have started immediately upon his confirmation as captain for a second time, with a third successive captaincy very much a possibility.

The excellent selection choice from Luke Donald that helped Europe win the Ryder Cup

Donald was very smart with several key decisions at Bethpage, with Bradley criticized for his decision-making throughout the week.

One superb decision from the winning skipper involved a heavy reliance on Matt Fitzpatrick, who had a week to remember in New York.

Fitzpatrick played four matches from Friday to Sunday, earning his team 2.5 points as he finished with a 2-1-1 record.

READ MORE: Shane Lowry reveals what he said to his caddie on the 18th hole before sealing the Ryder Cup for Europe

But given his worrying form at the start of the season and indeed his previous Ryder Cup record, it was a risk for Donald to even call up his fellow Englishman in the first place.

Fitzpatrick was a captain’s pick for Team Europe for Bethpage Black, where he represented his side for the fourth time in his career.

And he had struggled to perform in previous editions, entering New York with a 1-7-0 record from his three appearances.

But that was seemingly wiped from his memory from the very first tee, with Fitzpatrick and Ludvig Aberg beating Scottie Scheffler and Russell Henley in their Friday foursomes match.

The European duo then lost in the same format to Bryson DeChambeau and Cameron Young on Saturday, but Fitzpatrick recovered to win his four-ball match with Tyrrell Hatton against Sam Burns and Patrick Cantlay.

A half-point was then secured by the European ace as he battled it out with crowd-favourite DeChambeau in Sunday’s singles.

He even fired up the visiting fans on plenty of occasions, which arrived after Fitzpatrick was heckled by American fans in New York.

Matt Fitzpatrick repays Luke Donald faith with vital Ryder Cup display

It’s fair to say that Fitzpatrick was not among the in-form Ryder Cup players at one stage of the 2025 season.

The PGA Tour ace was really struggling to find his feet early on, having missed too many cuts for his liking.

He was the lowest-ranked player in the qualification standings other than Jon Rahm, who plays on LIV Golf, and was arguably closest to missing out on a captain’s pick.

But importantly for Donald, for Europe and for himself, Fitzpatrick found form at the perfect time, and in the perfect manner.

He was among the standouts as the Playoffs took centre stage, with the Englishman ending his season with five top-10s and 10 top-25s.

The 2022 US Open champion didn’t add to his two PGA Tour wins, and there were no runner-up finishes, but he proved to be a very worthy selection at Bethpage.

He can hold his head extremely high after a crucial display, which will have done his chances of a 2027 Ryder Cup appearance the world of good.

Of course, Fitzpatrick wasn’t the only one, with every European player – experienced and inexperienced – stepping up for Donald.