Team Europe stars make unanimous call for Luke Donald to make Ryder Cup history

01 October 2023 , 17:03

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Luke Donald captained Europe to victory (Image: (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino))

Europe's 12 Ryder Cup stars have called on Luke Donald to captain the team once more at Bethpage Black in 2025, after guiding his team to victory at Marco Simone.

The Europeans bounced back from their record-breaking defeat at Whistling Straits two years ago to reclaim the title they lost in 2021. Despite a nervy finish in Sunday's single matches, the home team got themselves over the line, going on to win the event 16.5-11.5.

On the back of their victory Donald and his players made their way up onto the stage on the 18th green at Marco Simone to collect their trophy, where the Englishman delivered his winning speech.

Donald went on to describe his 12 players as "legends", before the love was reciprocated both ways as Rory McIlroy and co chanted "two more years!" in reference to the skipper staying on in his role for their return to the United States in 2025.

If Donald was to stay on as captain it would be a monumental move for the European setup. Team Europe have not reappointed a captain since 1995, when Bernard Gallacher took charge of three Ryder Cups on the bounce.

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Since then, the DP World Tour have opted to change-up the captaincy every two years. For Donald though his thoughts were most definitely be on the present rather than the future, after guiding his continent to a seventh straight victory on home soil.

Luke Donald celebrates with Rory McIlroy and Matt Fitzpatrick after Europe's win was confirmed (Maddie Meyer/PGA of America/PGA of America via Getty Images)

On the back of his victory, the Englishman broke down into tears during an interview with Sky Sports. He said: "I'm really emotional. It's been a long process and an amazing journey. I enjoyed this one, it was stressful. The U.S. put up a fight today, they really did. Hats off to them, unbelievable.

"But I'm so proud of my 12 guys. We formed a bond from day one and they gave me everything and they trusted me and they delivered for me. It started off great (on Sunday). Our early guys got off to a great start, which is what we needed.

"We wanted some blue on the board early and then a few matches changed to red and you just kept looking at the board and thinking where are we going to find 14.5 points? We always had some guys at the back that looked good. I can't even speak."

Joshua Lees