It may still be a year to go until Team Europe's bid for a historic Ryder Cup threepeat, but Luke Donald has already had many of his prospective line-up together at Adare Manor. Although not quite a full scouting mission like Donald provided ahead of previous Ryder Cup wins at Marco Simone GC and Bethpage Black, it gave many of his potential players an early experience of tackling next year's Ryder Cup venue in Ireland. A mix of established Ryder Cup members and likely rookie contenders made the trip after the Amgen Irish Open, with a team dinner followed by 18 holes on Monday Sixteen players joined Donald and his vice-captains for the team session ahead of travelling onto the DP World Tour's BMW PGA Championship - 10 of last year's line-up, two more with past Ryder Cup pedigree and four potential debutants.
"Any time I'm asked to go to Adare Manor, I'm going to go happily and willingly," said Jon Rahm. "It's one of the best hotel golf course experiences there is in the world. I think those days are great for all of us to see each other and just in a way remember why we do what we do.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player "For those players who have never been there before, I think it's just getting those first nerves out of the way of how they may feel. Only Rory McIlroy and Rasmus Hojgaard were missing from Donald's dozen that celebrated a 15-13 victory in New York. Alex Noren - a winner in 2018 and vice-captain last year - and Nicolai Hojgaard, part of the 2023 team, also made the trip.
Alex Fitzpatrick and Kristoffer Reitan both featured after impressive rookie campaigns on the PGA Tour, while Spanish duo Eugenio Chacarra and Ángel Ayora were the other newcomers involved. Most travelled straight from the Amgen Irish Open, with Shane Lowry a later arrival after his record-breaking 11-shot win on home soil at Trump International Golf Links. "It was a lovely boys' day out, in the sense we got together and had a nice dinner," Justin Rose told the Sky Sports podcast.
"There was some intention-setting of what it means to be on the team and what the plans are going forward. Subscribe now on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Spreaker "The round itself yesterday was very casual, very fun and just a first look at the golf course. Having Adare Manor pretty much to yourself is a pretty special experience.
"For them [rookies], it lights the fire even more in them to want to be a part of that team. It gives them the comfort to feel like they're already part of the team, in the sense of [being in] Luke's thoughts, the way of doing things and how the captain goes about it. "It doesn't necessarily feel like a game-changing trip and 'wow, we have an advantage' or anything like that, but I think it's very important in terms of culture setting and all that." The European players went out in groups of four for a round in calm conditions, with some playing the course for the first time and others refamiliarizing themselves with a venue that previously hosted the JP McManus Pro-Am.
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