Lee Westwood has shared his verdict on the decision to keep Luke Donald as European Ryder Cup captain for 2025 when his side look to defend the trophy on American soil.
It was clear who most wanted to lead Team Europe at Bethpage next year towards the end of the most recent event at Marco Simone in Rome.
Of course, Luke Donald led his side to a reasonably comfortable victory over the US in Italy last year. Europe stormed into a huge lead over the first two days.
Lee Westwood issues verdict on Luke Donald remaining Team Europe Ryder Cup captain
And despite a reasonable fightback from the visitors late on Saturday – culminating in that clash between Rory McIlroy and Joe LaCava on the final green – and in the singles on Sunday, Europe got themselves across the line.
Obviously, winning in America is going to be another matter altogether. The Miracle at Medinah marked the last time an away side has won the Ryder Cup. In fact, it is the only time in the last nine events that that has happened.
So when the fans and players in Rome chanted for Donald to get two more years, it was no surprise that the decision-makers heeded the advice.
One factor working in Donald’s favour was the fact that so many potential captains left the DP World Tour to join LIV Golf.
Lee Westwood is one of those who previously looked nailed on to be a captain one day. And given his experience on the PGA Tour, he would have arguably been a leading candidate for this coming event.
Westwood was asked about Donald keeping the role in the latest Majesticks GC Camp Confidential. And he suggested that his countryman is the right choice, all things considered.
“Clearly, all the players like him. They respect him. They like the way he does things. So why not give him another go at it away from home,” he said.
“Obviously something else that’s had an impact on it is the amount of possible future Ryder Cup captains that have come to LIV. We’ve taken our hats out the ring for that, we’ve lost the likes of Henrik [Stenson], myself, Ian [Poulter], Sergio Garcia, Martin Kaymer, Graeme McDowell. So there aren’t too many obvious potential captains of a certain age range.”
LIV defections leave Europeans with a problem further down the line
Westwood’s comments do highlight a problem Europe face in the years to come. Previously, there was a long line of names who were guaranteed to take the captaincy. Certainly, Westwood, Poulter and Garcia would have been on that list. Henrik Stenson was supposed to lead the team in 2023.
Unless something changes, those figures will not get the chance to captain the side. And that is a worry.
Having said that, if Donald leads Europe to glory next year, it is possible that there will swiftly be calls for the 46-year-old to stay on for yet another stint.
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