By Vishnu Mohan
Copyright sportskeeda
Luke Donald reiterated that his European side is fielding a ‘very similar team’ this weekend to the Ryder Cup winning side from 2023. The Englishman admitted that it is ‘unusual’ to have 11 of the 12 reigning champions returning to defend their side’s title at Bethpage.Notably, Nicolai Højgaard is the only golfer from the team Donald had at Marco Simone who is not returning to the Ryder Cup side this weekend. Interestingly, the Dane is replaced by his twin Rasmus, who in turn was on the buggy for his brother in Rome. The team skipper added that he ‘haven’t had to work that hard’ with the side due to their bonding from two years ago.Speaking about his Europe side, Luke Donald said, as quoted by ASAP Sports:“Well, it’s a very similar team, which is unusual, never happened in the history of our Ryder Cup teams in Europe, to have 11 come back. So we have a lot of cohesion… I think part of a captain’s job is to try and form the team. It’s to try and get these guys together and kind of bonding and being a team. I certainly haven’t had to work that hard with these guys because of what we did two years ago… Even Rasmus (Højgaard) was on the buggy for Nicolai and spent time there.”Furthermore, Donald went on to address the improvement in his players in the last two years. However, he also lauded Keegan Bradley’s US side that features ‘the best player in the world’ on Scottie Scheffler.Luke Donald added:“I think statistically there are some guys who are a lot better players than they were in Rome, and I’m sure the US are very strong too. You just look at the talent the US have, they have the best player in the world. He’s doing incredible things. They have a bunch of superstars, as well… But we understand that it’s going to be a big challenge, but I am very excited about my team, where we are, the form we have coming into this, and I’m excited about getting going on Friday.”Ryder Cup Team Europe from 2023 and 2025It is pertinent to note that Luke Donald fielded three rookies – Robert MacIntyre, Nicolai Højgaard and Ludvig Åberg – in his 2023 Ryder Cup squad. However, Rasmus, replacing his brother, is the only rookie in the 2025 roster. It is also noteworthy that the team skipper brought back a major part of the side using his captain’s picks which includes Jon Rahm.Listed below are the European Ryder Cup teams from 2023 and 2025 with the players’ past record in the team competition:2023Rory McIlroy: 12-12-4Jon Rahm: 4-3-1Robert MacIntyre: RookieViktor Hovland: 0-3-2Tyrrell Hatton: 2-4-1Matt Fitzpatrick: 0-5-0Tommy Fleetwood: 4-2-2Sepp Straka: RookieJustin Rose: 13-8-2Shane Lowry: 1-2-0Nicolai Højgaard: RookieLudvig Åberg: Rookie2025Rory McIlroy: 16-13-4Robert MacIntyre: 2-0-1Tommy Fleetwood: 7-3-2Justin Rose: 14-9-3Rasmus Højgaard: RookieTyrrell Hatton: 5-4-2Shane Lowry: 2-3-1Sepp Straka: 1-2-0Ludvig Åberg: 2-2-0Viktor Hovland: 3-4-3Matt Fitzpatrick: 1-7-0Jon Rahm: 6-3-3More details on the Ryder Cup will be updated as the event progresses.
