Back in early March, England’s Luke Donald was appointed as European Ryder Cup Captain for a third consecutive Ryder Cup.
With Donald at the helm for the 2027 Ryder Cup at Adare Manor in Ireland, he becomes only the fourth person to captain Europe in three or more consecutive Ryder Cups and the first since Bernhard Gallacher (1991-1995).
It’s easy to understand why. Donald is one of the few captains who can boast victories both home (Rome in 2023) and away (Bethpage Black in 2025).
As he prepares for this week’s 108th PGA Championship at Aronimink – his first start of 2026 – Donald spoke about what it was like to get the captaincy nod for a third time.
“Sunday night of New York, I thought that was my time as captain,” the 48-year-old, who has also played for Team Europe in four Ryder Cups, said. “I'm very fortunate to be able to do it twice and to be a winning captain home and away. I think you always dream of something like that happening, and it happened. I felt very good about that.”
Donald explained that as the months went on, there was a groundswell of support from players like Rory McIlroy, Matt Fitzpatrick and Shane Lowry to bring Donald back for a third term.
That’s when Donald said he had to consider it.
Being a Ryder Cup captain is a lot of work, especially in the lead-up with all the things that need to get done behind the scenes. Donald needed to weigh that with big family moments ahead.
“I really wanted to talk to my family,” he said. “It's a little bit of a burden on a family. My oldest daughter is 16. In two years' time, she'll be going to college. I knew, if I took this job on, it would be more time away than if I didn't. So that was a consideration. It's been a hugely positive experience for my family. The winning helps. But they've enjoyed some of the moments, especially the weeks of the Ryder Cup. It's been great for my family. So they were very much behind it.”
Donald said the final factor he considered before agreeing to take the job again was where it was being played.
“In Ireland, a home Ryder Cup,” he said. “I've played a lot of golf in Ireland over the years, and the welcome you always get from these people is pretty incredible. I think we could create a great environment for the Ryder Cup and one that it truly deserves. I think it will be a nice way to -- a nice way to end a Ryder Cup, being in Ireland with those kind of great golf fans.”
Two was special. Three would be historic... pic.twitter.com/bdlMRUCji6
— Ryder Cup Europe (@RyderCupEurope) March 4, 2026
Donald’s own game has taken a backseat as he prepares for the Ryder Cup. He said he’s looking forward to teeing it up this week, however.
“Yeah, it's nice to be back playing a little competitive golf,” he said. “It's been a while. First real look at Aronimink. I got here Monday, played a late nine holes and played 18 yesterday. Enjoyed the golf course, very old classic golf course. Very much a second-shot course, I feel like, with the Donald Ross greens. Reasonably generous off the tee. So it's important to be on the fairway, but it's all about the second shots into these greens and see what the PGA of America does with the pin locations. I think, again, very enjoyable, old, classic golf course.”
Donald said he took a scouting trip to Adare last month to get a look at the course and the hotel, “ticking a few boxes off and enjoying the journey again.”
“It's a beautiful Tom Fazio [design],” Donald said. “Really pretty golf course, parkland. A decent amount of space there. It's not necessarily narrow. They did a regrassing this last summer for the option to potentially grow rough if we want to and narrow some of the fairways. It's just a beautiful parkland course in the southwest of Ireland, five-star manor house that has a lot of history. I think it will be a tremendous venue for a Ryder Cup. It's not a typical Irish links course by any means, but it's certainly a very good golf course.”