By Matt Smith
European Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald will get his first chance to keep an eye on his 2023 prospects when he tees it up at the Made In Himmerland event on the DP World Tour this week.
The Englishman recently took over from Henrik Stenson at Europe’s captain for the tournament against the best in the United States when they assemble at Marco Simone Golf Club in Rome in September next year.
After consulting on a selection process that will see him have six picks along with three qualifiers from each of the European and World Points Lists, he is now eager to see his potential charges in action, starting at Himmerland.
“I wanted to be over in Europe a little more and obviously I’ll be there next week and in Italy as well, but this week was a great chance to come over here and spend a little bit of time with my Vice Captains Thomas Bjorn and Edoardo Molinari as they’re both in the field,” he said.
“I’ve always supported the DP World Tour and have been a full Member for many years now, but I’ll be over in Europe a little bit more and keeping an eye on some of the players – playing with some of the guys that I haven’t played with or known very well.
“Those up-and-coming stars who might have an opportunity to make a Ryder Cup, and I haven’t seen their game yet. It’s important, the last month since I’ve taken this job I’ve been following the scores a little more closely, but it’s nice to be in the tournaments with them, see how they’re acting, see how they’re playing. Nothing beats actually being there rather than watching from home so it’s a great opportunity for me.
“There will be some changes this year obviously, we’ve gone for three players off the European Points List and three from the World Points List and six picks. It’s certainly a little bit of a change from past years but certainly myself and Edoardo especially, we did a deep dive into some statistical analysis and really thought this was going to give us the best opportunity to have the strongest team for Rome.
“It will give me some flexibility to create some great pairings, and to have the most in-form players available for a pick next September.”
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