DONALD TO RETURN AS RYDER CUP CAPTAIN

Englishman Luke Donald will return to lead Team Europe in the 2025 Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black in New York. The 45-year-old led his team to a 16.5 - 11.5 win in Rome in October this year to wrestle back the title from the United States. He will now become Europe’s first repeat captain since Bernard Gallacher manned the helm in three consecutive tournaments between 1991 and 1995. Donald set his sights on building a legacy as his retention was announced.

“The Ryder Cup experience for me in 2023 was an amazing one,” Donald said. “I really enjoyed the whole journey. To be only the second European Ryder Cup captain to possibly go back-to-back is something that’s very interesting to me and a great challenge and excites me. I love what the Ryder Cup represents. I’ve had so many amazing experiences as a Ryder Cup player and obviously as a captain, and to be given the honour to go back-to-back is very special for me.”

Donald’s rising star has not gone unnoticed in Asia, particularly in Central Vietnam where his only golf course design has also earned accolades in recent times.

“The course here at Ba Na Hills Golf Club reflects his flair for strategic planning and is just one of the highlights for play in this part of Asia,” says Gary Dixon, General Manager of Ba Na Hills Golf Club of Donald’s design of the club’s course just outside Da Nang. Donald’s design unfolds over rolling foothills amidst the dramatic peaks that back the coastline in Central Vietnam. Other stunning tracks include Laguna Golf Lang Co, home to a Sir Nick Faldo Signature Design, and courses designed by luminaries including Greg Norman, Colin Montgomerie, Robert Trent Jones Jr., and Jack Nicklaus.

The 2025 Europe Ryder Cup Team captain will have his work cut out for him as the world’s three major golf tours – PGA TOUR, DP World Tour and LIV Golf – grapple with conciliation and a collaborative plan for the Official World Golf Rankings that determines who qualifies to play.