Luke Donald admits he was “very humbled” by Padraig Harrington’s endorsement that he would make a “great” Ryder Cup Captain, declaring he’d love to lead Europe at the biennial contest.
Donald assisted Harrington at Whistling Straits last year and despite a record-breaking defeat, the Dubliner has no doubt that the Englishman possesses all the qualities needed to captain the boys in blue.
“All I can say is that Luke [Donald] would be great,” Harrington told the Daily Mail. “Behind the scenes, he does a terrific job. His management style…he knows. He’s got the experience, and I’d thoroughly recommend him.”
With Lee Westwood already ruling himself out of the Captaincy conversation for Rome 2023, Donald is amongst the favourites to take on the honour, one that he didn’t shy away from upon hearing Harrington’s endorsement.
“Obviously very humbled by Paddy’s comments,” Donald said. “I would love to have the opportunity to do that. I haven’t spoken to anyone at the European Tour, so nothing has been confirmed or, yeah, I don’t know where I stand with that, but I’ve had great experiences with the Ryder Cup.
“I played on four and won four and been a vice captain at a couple and just loved the tournament itself and what it represents and again, yeah, if I was given the opportunity I would dearly love it and be very grateful and honoured to take it up.”
As a right-hand man to Harrington in Wisconsin, Donald’s organisational skills came to the fore to best help his captain communicate with players throughout a whirlwind week. Having picked up tips and jotted down notes along the way, clearly Donald’s attention to detail hasn’t gone unnoticed over the years and with Europe’s Ryder Cup skipper expected to be announced any time now, his experience could just hold sway ahead of the unveiling.
“Again, I’ve been a part of six Ryder Cups, I’ve made plenty of notes during those times, stuff that I thought looked good, stuff that I’ve learned from our other captains, other vice captains, just knowledge that I think is going to help me, if I do ever do get that opportunity one day to be a captain,” he said.
“So I’m kind of a detailed-oriented guy, I like to write things down, that’s kind of how I practiced, I always put full effort into everything I do and, yeah, I mean I guess that’s, that came across nicely in Padraig’s comments about me.
“It’s something, again, I would love to do and I know there’s a worthy list of people who could do this job and be the next Ryder Cup captain, but it’s nice to have my name up there.”
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