By Martin Dempster

Copyright scotsman

Double-winning Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald shrugged off opposite number Keegan Bradley’s groan about the event’s ‘envelope rule’. The rule was implemented for the first time in 32 years after Viktor Hovland was forced to withdraw from the last-day singles in New York due to a neck injury. That meant the concluding session was reduced to 11 games, with both teams securing half a point before play got underway at Bethpage Black. The substitution rule in the Captains’ Agreement requires each captain to provide the name of one player – the names go in a sealed envelope – who will not play in the case of an injury to a team member. Bradley aired his view on the rule after seeing his side come up just short of pulling off the biggest comeback in the event’s history as Europe survived a huge scare before holding on to the trophy with a 15-13 win on Long Island. As “Yeah, it has to change,” said the US captain, who was asked if he had any ideas about how to do that “I have a few ideas but I’m not going to tell you right now,” he added. “I think it’s obvious to everybody in the sports world, in this room. Nothing against Viktor. But that rule needs to change by the next Ryder Cup.” That will be held at Adare Manor in Ireland and, though it remains to be seen if Donald will be in charge again after teeing up the chance to land an unprecedented hat-trick of wins, the Englishman disagreed with Bradley. As Bob MacIntyre laughed when Donald was told that Bradley felt it should be changed, Donald said: “I think it’s been in place since 1971. The US have used it before. I think it happened in 1991 with Steve Pate. That was a tight Ryder Cup, too, 14½-13½. “It happened in 1993, when Sam Torrance couldn’t play with an injured toe. The US won that one. We have a captains’ agreement for a reason, for situations that occur. “I want to centre it back to Viktor. I would have had absolute faith in him to deliver a point today. He couldn’t play. He was gutted. The rule is the rule and it’s been in place for a long time. Donald emulated Tony Jacklin, who achieved the feat in 1985 and 1987, as a winning captain both home and away, revealing the attention to detail that had delivered a first victory on US soil since Medinah in 2012. “My job is literally to give these guys a better chance to win. It can be as simple as some very small things,” said the former world No 1. I’ll give you an example. At the hotel rooms this week, the doors to our hotel rooms had a big crack that let in light. We brought things that covered the light. We put different shampoos that had a better smell. “We changed the bedding because the beds weren’t very good, and they just had sheets, and we created much nicer beds so guys could sleep.They could have more energy. Those are just little things. I’m going into some really small details.” Shane Lowry, who birdied the 18th against Russell Henley to secure a crucial half point for the Europeans as it was beginning to look as though they could come up short despite only needing three points in the closing session to come out on top, piped in that changing sheets won’t be a requirement at the extremely plush Adare Manor. “No, 1500 a night,” said a smiling Donald. “It’s just taking the time and having the care that you want to do everything you can to kind of give these guys the best opportunity. You want to create an environment where they can succeed. These are 12 amazing players, we know that. You’re just trying to put them in a position where they feel comfortable.”