Ryder Cup 2023: Solheim Cup comeback can inspire Team Europe in Rome, says Luke Donald
urope’s Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald believes his players can be inspired by their female counterparts’ stunning Solheim Cup comeback on Sunday.
Suzann Pettersen’s side recovered from 4-0 down on the opening day and again 13-11 late into the final day to level at 14-14 and retain the Solheim Cup in the process.
Donald is hopeful his side can go one better when the Ryder Cup gets underway in Rome on Friday.
The European skipper, who admitted he was glued to the TV on Sunday, said: “A lot of the guys were talking about it. A lot of the guys were posting stuff on their social and I think that’s only good inspiration for our team going forward for this week.”
Team Europe with the Solheim Cup
/ PAPettersen used three players for all five matches in Linn Grant, Emily Kristine Pedersen and Leona Maguire.
But former Ryder Cup player Donald, who won 10 matches in the biennial event, already has a fair idea of his pairings but said it was unlikely he would rely on one player to play all five matches. And similarly, he said he expect to blood all his players at least once before Sunday’s singles.
“In terms of playing five, I think there’s some guys that certainly could do that and have done that in the past,” he said. “This is a very tiring, taxing golf course. It’s meant to be pretty sapping.
“I’ll certainly be considering that but it’s not out of the question that some people might play five. I very much doubt that someone wouldn’t play until the Sunday singles.”
The event gets under way with the foursomes, a break from the more traditional fourballs with Donald admitting he had pushed for it because of Europe’s better record in the foursomes format.
And Donald, who replaced Henrik Stenson as captain 14 months ago when Stenson joined LIV Golf, said: “I certainly have a lot of belief in my team. I know it’s going to be a difficult next few days.
“The US are very strong. We are coming off our worst defeat ever in a Ryder Cup. We have our work cut out but you have to have belief in your team that you’re going to get them into a place where they are going to be successful.”
