After Donald’s double, who will captain Team Europe at the 2027 Ryder Cup at Adare Manor

The conversation is already out there about who will be the next Ryder Cup Captains at Adare Manor, Ireland, in two years’ time. Let’s start by looking at Team Europe.

It seems that Luke Donald will rightly be invited to try for the three-peat. It is his decision to say yes or no. Tony Jacklin is the only Team Europe Captain to have previously won both home and away matches in 1985 and 1987.

Recommended For You

UAE recalls Hong Thai inhaler due to microbial contamination

Discover Norway: Why Oslo should be your next Nordic getaway

AI transformation UAE: Trust, safety, and sovereignty in technology

Dubai: How residents can avoid power cuts amid rainy season; 6 steps to take

Upper Canada College: Redefining the modern boarding experience for global learners

 

At Bethpage Black, Donald politely pushed aside the questions of another term of captaincy – “I want the dust to settle before I make any decision. I need time to process.”

He has received huge support from the players. All 12 players sang out, “Two more years,” after the prize presentation on Sunday night of the week.

Does anyone know what commitment it takes to take on the role? It invariably negatively impacts a player’s form inside the tournament ropes in the long build-up.

Justin Rose, 45 years old, has been tipped to probably follow Donald as Team Europe’s captain whenever he steps down.

Rose commented about Donald’s style of captaincy, “He’s really given his heart and soul to this thing (Ryder Cup) for four years now. He’s left a seriously strong blueprint and has made it very daunting for the next guy.”

Jon Rahm added, “Luke has set the bar for captaincy so extremely high.”

“What he’s done these four years of being a part of is absolutely astonishing. He has been so professional, so dedicated, so incredibly meticulous, and well organized, and doing everything he needs to do, and that’s why you’ve seen the two performances you’ve seen from us,” concluded Rahm.

Rose currently stands in 12th place in the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) and probably has ambitions still to be able to compete in two years.

A look at Luke Donald’s Ryder Cup record is hard to fathom. The 47-year-old Englishman, who is a former World Number One, has played on four occasions, twice with automatic qualification and twice with Captains’ picks in 2004, 2006, 2010, and 2012. All resulted in wins as did his two captaincies in 2023 and 2025.

Donald’s Ryder Cup captaincy achievements are fast, at least matching his stellar playing career.

A look at history shows that Henrik Stenson was originally appointed as the captain in March 2022 before being replaced by Donald in August 2022, as Stenson chose to join the LIV Golf League.

It seems the playing captain suggestion has now been put to bed following the Keegan Bradley debate. Everyone now surely realizes that the dual role is just too big for any one person unless the team management structure is changed.

Francesco Molinari and Shane Lowry must be potential Ryder Cup captains on a short list.

What about LIV Golf players? In the conditions of playing in the Ryder Cup, all players and Captains must be members of the DP World Tour. That is how Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton were eligible to play.

Let’s wait and watch to see how those DP World Tour appeals against paying fines, suspensions etc are all hopefully resolved.

Sergio Garcia, Lee Westwood, Graeme McDowell and Ian Poulter, and others surely deserve some involvement. Will they want to be involved or not? We will see.

There was a time, not so long ago, when there was a plethora of potential candidates and a one term captaincy was the deal. Circumstances can change so very quickly. The last repeat Captain before Donald was Bernard Gallacher in 1995.

We will discuss the potential Team USA Ryder Cup captains in next week’s KT Golf Newsletter.

The 2027 Ryder Cup is a long way off – but it is never far from the news one way or another!