Luke Donald named 2023 European Ryder Cup captain

Luke Donald (Keith Allison, Wikimedia Commons)

Luke Donald of Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, England has been named the 2023 Ryder Cup captain for Team Europe according to the Canadian Press on Monday. He takes over from Henrik Stenson of Gothenburg, Sweden. Stenson, who won the 2016 British Open, was stripped of his captaincy when he joined the LIV Golf Tour. Ironically, Stenson won the LIV Golf Tournament this past weekend in Bedminster, New Jersey with a score of -11.

Donald becomes the 11th English captain of the Ryder Cup. He follows Charles Whitcombe of Berrow (1931, 1935, 1937, 1949), John Henry Taylor of Northam (1933), Henry Cotton of Holmes Chapel (1947, 1953), Arthur Lacey of Burnham (1951), Harry Weetman of Oswestry (1965), Bernard Hunt of Atherstone (1973, 1975), John Jacobs of Woodsetts (1979, 1981), Tony Jacklin of Scunthorpe (1983, 1985, 1987, 1989), Mark James of Manchester (1999), and Nick Faldo of Welwyn Garden City (2008).

Of the 10 prior English Ryder Cup captains, only two were victorious. Taylor guided Great Britain to a 6.5 to 5.5 victory in 1933 in Southport, England. Then Jacklin guided Europe to a 16.5 to 11.5 victory in the Belfry in 1985, and then a 15 to 13 victory in Muirfield Village in Dublin, Ohio (home course of Jack Nicklaus) in 1987. Then in 1989, Europe retained the Ryder Cup with Jacklin at the helm as Europe and the United States tied at 14 points apiece at the Belfry.

The 2023 Ryder Cup will be at Marco Simone Golf and Country Club in Rome, Italy. Zach Johnson of the United States is the American captain. In an interesting golf note, Donald was ranked first in the world, but never won a major title. Johnson won the 2007 Masters and 2015 British Open, but only had a career-high ranking of sixth in the world.

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