The first two tournaments that Luke Donald played after Jon Rahm announced his departure to LIV Golf were in Dubai. First, he competed in the Invitational and a week later in the Hero Dubai Desert Classic. In both weeks, the English golfer, who will return as European captain of the Ryder Cup in 2025 at Bethpage, avoided making statements or interviews. It was a strict order. Not even to the official media of the DP World Tour. Obviously, he wanted to avoid uncomfortable questions and, even more so, with the advanced news that Tyrrell Hatton was negotiating to join Jon’s team.
As such, Donald’s first public appearance after Jon’s signing for LIV in front of the media was this Tuesday in Scottsdale, in the run-up to the WM Phoenix Open, a PGA Tour tournament where he is going to play with an invitation. Here, the captain has expressed his wish that Rahm and Hatton do everything possible to remain eligible for the Ryder Cup, confirmed that there is no animosity against them for having gone to LIV Golf and postponed any deeper assessment of the team until seven months from now, when the qualification period begins.
Donald confirmed that Hatton and Rahm are still in the WhatsApp group that the European team created for the Rome Ryder Cup, implying that nothing has changed in their relationship. “We are all participating in that chat we created for Rome. There is nothing against them. Everyone understands that everyone wants to do the best for themselves and I don’t think anyone is judging Tyrrell or Jon’s decision. Rahm decided that was the best option for him. Many guys have decided that going to LIV was the option they felt comfortable with and thought it was the right decision. I’m not here to judge that,” he explained.
On the presence of the two golfers in the 2025 Bethpage Ryder, Luke has specified that right now he cannot anticipate anything, although he trusts that they will remain as members of the DP World Tour and therefore eligible. “There is a long way to go from the start of qualification, seven months or so. A lot can happen. It keeps changing. It keeps evolving. There are open negotiations and we don’t know what will happen in the coming months. Until I know, I won’t make any decisions. Jon and Tyrrell, as far as I know, are still members of the European Tour and would be eligible. Nothing has changed. I’m sure they want to be part of it and hopefully they will adhere to whatever rules allow them to play in the Ryder Cup,” he specified.
On his presence at the Phoenix Open, beyond his own particular interest as a player to do well, Donald hinted that it could be a good test of fire to know what he is going to find in Bethpage in the 2025 Ryder, where a very hot atmosphere is expected. “I think hole 16 of the TPC Scottsdale (the loudest par 3 in the world) can be a good appetizer of what we are going to find”.
Finally, Donald was asked about the Ryder Cup at Medinah, about that Sunday called miracle. The Englishman did not hesitate to point to Seve Ballesteros and José María Olazábal as the intellectual authors of that feat. “We have always admired the legacy that Seve Ballesteros left us in the Ryder Cup, what it meant to him, how much he tried to inspire his teammates, how important the history of the Ryder Cup was. Seve had passed away just a few months before and, without a doubt, we felt his presence, he was guiding us. Olazábal didn’t talk much about him that week. I think he helped us a lot that Sunday. We didn’t have much push the first two days. We had a little on Saturday night, but on Sunday we thought something good could happen. I’m sure Seve’s spirit and some of José María’s conversations and stories gave us the inspiration for that comeback”.
