News about Luke Donald

Ryder Cup-winning captain Luke Donald has announced his vice-captain for next year's Ryder Cup showdown at Bethpage Black in the United States. Donald led his European side in Rome last year in a memorable triumph and is reprising his role to attempt to back it up in enemy territory.

RIATH AL-SAMARRAI AT AUGUSTA NATIONAL: Luke Donald will undertake a reconnaissance mission to the 2025 Ryder Cup venue in New York next month. At a time when the PGA of America is yet to finalise who will even lead their team, with Tiger Woods mulling over the US captaincy, European preparations are gaining pace. Mail Sport understands that will include Donald's trip to Bethpage Black in May to monitor alterations being made to the notoriously brutal course.

RIATH AL-SAMARRAI: It's remarkable that Tommy Fleetwood's reputation has been tied so closely to two of golf's most recurring thoughts. Both play to the same question: who is the next man up? We may have asked it simply in the context of who will break their duck in the majors one day. However, these days, it is also looking at the current drama of LIV and the next batch of targets. Fleetwood has naturally been mentioned in each of those conversations; a golfer on the verge of crashing through and a golfer too strong not to invite bids from a promising start-up circuit; and a golfer who is not well-known not to receive offers from an exciting start-up circuit.

Wyndham Clark, the reigning US Open champion, was embroiled in a cheating scandal during the third round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational on Saturday. Clark, who won the US Open last summer at Los Angeles Country Club, trails overnight leaders Scottie Scheffler and Shane Lowry by a shot going into the final round, but the distance could have been larger. Clark was seen pressing his team back for the ball while setting his shot up from the heavy rough on Bay Hill's 18th birthday, causing it to possibly move, even on the broadcast. Following the round, the television replays suggested that the ball may have migrated but that authorities review it in the scoring area and found that Clark should not be punished.

Golfers must commit to the game from an early age, forgoing childhood pleasures in the search of a dream to make it to the top. That deal, unfortunately, is unfulfilled for the most part. Only a select few make it to the elite level of the game, whether due to injury, appearance, or simply bad luck. That's why it's so rare to see some of the early images of the stars of today's day, who have managed to defyse and, in even rarer cases, win the major awards of the sport.

ISABEL BALDWIN AT MAYAKOBA, MEXICO: After Legion XIII, the Roman Empire unit that crossed the Rubicon under Julius Caesar, Jon Rahm named his LIV Golf team. Rahm crossed his own Rubicon on Friday, making it a fitting name. As soon as the Masters champion teed it up in Mayakoba on Friday, he began his life on LIV's side of the civil war, with no return to the PGA Tour allowed. Rahm, 29, had admitted that his $500 million LIV Golf defection was a'significant risk to take' ahead of his debut in Mexico earlier this week. On Friday, the gamble seemed to have paid off. With LIV, the Spaniard got off to a slew of holes, securing both his and the breakaway's big money moves within a single hole.

When the fly-on-the-wall docuseries returns next month, golf legends Rory McIlroy and Justin Thomas are among the golf superstars set to appear in the second season of Full Swing. Fans are taken on a journey with some of golf's most well-known players. With the introduction of the Saudi-backed LIV Golf, one season one was embedded in the sport as it fractured. Now, Netflix has announced that season two will premiere on March 6, with a cast of well-known celebrities set to appear.

Tyrrell Hatton's ride to the LIV circuit will be rubber-stamped imminently, causing a new headache for European Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald. Hatton, who revealed earlier this month that he had held discussions with LIV, is expected to be included in the field for their season-opener in Mexico, which starts on Friday. It will be another blow to the PGA Tour and DP World Tour, as well as a further complicatation for Donald on the back of Jon Rahm's departure in December.

Hatton, a member of the 2023 Ryder Cup-winning Team Europe, is now heading to the rebel circuit, while teammate Jon Rahm is expected to follow him. The Englishman, who was ranked No. 16 in the top 50, is said to have turned down previous bids from Greg Norman's breakaway over reluctance to risk dropping out of the top 50 and missing out on qualifying for the majors. According to The Telegraph, an improved bid has turned Hatton's head, with the 32-year-old now deciding to join Rahm's new team.

Hatton, a member of the 2023 Ryder Cup-winning Team Europe, is reportedly to follow his colleague Jon Rahm to the rebel circuit, according to rumors. The Englishman, who has been ranked No. 16 in the top 50, is said to have turned down previous offers from Greg Norman's breakaway over reluctance to risk losing the top 50 and missing out on qualifying for the majors. However, a new bid may have turned Hatton's head, with the 32-year-old close to joining Rahm's new team. Meronk, who was named the DP World Tour player of the year by his peers just last week, has already signed up to LIV.

Edoardo Molinari has been named as his first vice-captain for Europe's Ryder Cup defense at Bethpage Black in 2025. Molinari's statistical study was instrumental in Europe regaining the trophy in Rome last year with a five-point victory over the United States at Marco Simone Golf and Country Club. 'I'm so happy,' the 42-year-old former Amateur champion, who also served on a winning team in 2010 says.' It's something that makes me proud, and it also means I did a good job last time, so I'm eager to assist the team and Luke in Bethpage and am really looking forward to it.

The attritional link between the PGA Tour, DP World Tour, and LIV Golf has ignited feuds, broken down friendships, and has dramatically changed the golfing landscape as we know it. The past 12 months have been particularly transformative. From the utter blending of the PGA Tour, the DP World Tour, and LIV Golf to Jon Rahm's announcement that he will be playing in the breakaway Saudi-backed golf league, it has certainly been an eventful year for the game. Despite all of the drama, the game has risen in popularity, and according to a study published by the R&A earlier this summer, there has been a 15 percent rise in adult golfers since 2020, with nearly 39.6 million players taking up golf. It's likely that it's partially due to the increased attention that the sport has gained over the past two years from the tensions between the two groups of contention.

After deciding to handle the 2025 showdown in New York, Luke Donald will be the first captain to lead Europe at successive Ryder Cups for 30 years. In the aftermath of the five-point destruction of the US in Rome in October, Rory McIlroy's chant of "two more years" has enthralled the 45-year-old, who has now been introduced to the difficult challenge of keeping the trophy on foreign soil. He may now be on a tumultuous collision course with Tiger Woods, who has a strong presence in the United States to lead Bethpage Black's recovery efforts.

This year, Jordan, who usually goes to the golf course where the biennial competition is held, stayed in America. However, that didn't stop him from congratulating European players rather than seeing them. It's well known that the six-time NBA champion is a keen golfer. To the majority of fans of the sport, it might be surprising to learn that Jordan celebrated the achievements of this year's Ryder Cup-winning team. Lowry told the Irish Independent, 'He's very much a pro-USA guy.'

Firefighters are fighting a massive fire at the luxurious golf venue where Europe triumphed in the Ryder Cup last week after defeating the United States. Hundreds of firefighters were on the scene fighting the massive fire that had brought fires and smoke shootings into the sky. Footage taken by a fire helicopter showed the severity of the fire at Marco Simone's course in Guidonia on Rome's outskirts. For last week's tournament, a three-story grandstand that was intended to hold hundreds of spectators was on hold. One eyewitness told local media: 'The smoke and fires are amazing.' It's huge, and you can feel the heat from even a distance.'

WORLD OF TENNIS DICKSON: Novak Djokovic was on display at the Ryder Cup, assisting the European team and demonstrating his superb golf skills to the crowds at Marco Simone. Not only did he meet informally with the players, but he also gave captain Luke Donald of the racket he used to win this year's US Open final and participated in the All Star Challenge prior to the main event. During my time as an editor, I had a somewhat bizarre personal encounter related to the contents of this column last week. Since I had an early meeting with Novak, I was in the early stages of being exposed to a long line of his social media troopers.

Luke Donald has given his eliant Ryder Cup participants a limited-edition pair of trainers created by his close friend Michael Jordan. Since getting to know each other in Chicago more than a decade ago, the European captain lives just a few doors down from the basketball icon in a gated neighborhood in Jupiter, Florida. With the gift giving a tradition of captains in the biennial match, Donald seems to have called on Jordan to assist him with a unique one that went beyond the obvious. The shoes were specifically designed for Donald Trump's 12 men, who won by 16.5-11.5 on Sunday to reclaim the trophy.

On Monday morning, Luke Donald went to bed about 4 a.m. He was one of the first ones, according to most. He didn't feel well,' he told a few of us a little while after he climbed at the top of the mountain-top hotel Team Europe, where he talked with their American rivals at the Rome Cavalieri. It's a sprawling city with a diverse collection of statues from unicorns and lions, as well as views over the city.

RORY McIlroy says the absence of LIV rebels in the European side enabled him to'flourish' during the Ryder Cup victory over the United States. McIlroy reclaimed the trophy in Rome with four points, as Luke Donald's crew moved on from Sergio Garcia, Lee Westwood, and Ian Poulter. McIlroy admitted Jon Rahm, Viktor Hovland, and himself felt compelled to step up in the absence of those Cup champions. They accounted for 10.5 percent of Europe's 16.5 points.

On the 18th green at the Marco Simone Golf and Country Club in Rome yesterday, an explosion of emotion erupted. As Luke Donald's European team defeated Zach Johnson's US team in 2021, there was relief, jubilation, and a slew of champagne. It was decided that a gladiatorial match between some of golf's top players was decided. Europe reigned supreme, but Rory McIlroy found remission.

The 'Colonel Sanders lookalike' who became a viral sensation after diving into a lake when Europe defeated Team USA at the Ryder Cup has been revealed as a tartan-loving Scottish businessman. On Sunday afternoon, John Burleigh, a 70-year-old former Lib Dem presidential candidate, was caught diving into the water at the Marco Simone club in Rome's 16th hole. Colonel Sanders was dubbed by internet trolls for his apparent resemblance to the late founder of KFC.

Luke Donald "would consider" keeping the European Ryder Cup captaincy for the next year in two years' time. The 45-year-old, a four-time Ryder Cup champion as a player, received raves for his leadership in Rome as Europe regained the trophy with a 16.5-11.5 win.

In a video shared on social media, Shane Lowry was seen humourously shutting down a course marshal at the Ryder Cup. While playing a wedge shot on Sunday, the official was attempting to keep spectators at the Marco Simone Golf and Country Club from falling behind the 36-year-old. The 2019 Open champion was a pivotal member of Luke Donald's undefeated team, winning 1.5 points for Team Europe and returning his singles match to three-time major champion Jordan Spieth.

After Rory McIlroy and Co's dramatic victory over the United States, there are sure to be a lot of sore heads as Team Europe's stars awakened in Rome today. After beating the United States by 16.5 points to 11.5 points at Marco Simone Golf and Country Club in Rome, Europe comfortably revived the Ryder Cup, sparking wild celebrations both on and off the track. McIlroy's team could be seen leading chants of 'USA is afraid' after their superb victory, which saw Luke Donald's side face the 2021 demons of 2021, just shy of wrapping up, while his coworkers joined in.