Luke Donald admitted that he’d had many sleepless nights in the lead-up to the Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black in New York, but he’s looking forward to being back with a scorecard in his pocket as he makes his return to DP World Tour action at the India Championship.
Like many of the players in the field, it will be the former world number one’s first time teeing it up in India, and is one of the star attractions in a heavy-hitting field.
“It’s a different feel,” he said. “Obviously the last few years has been a lot of Ryder Cup and especially the last few weeks.
“What we did in New York was amazing, but it’s back to the day job now a little bit, and I’m excited to be here in India for the first time.
“I’ve travelled around the world quite a lot with golf but never been to India.
“When I had the opportunity to come, it seemed like a great opportunity, a couple weeks after the Ryder Cup, to come experience this wonderful country.”
Having played in four Ryder Cups and finished on the winning side in all of them, Donald’s legacy as a Ryder Cup great was already secured before he took up the captaincy reins for the first time, but now, as a back-to-back winning captain as well, his standing could scarcely be higher.
And there have been calls for him to lead Europe for a third successive occasion when the Ryder Cup returns to Ireland and Adare Manor in 2027. Despite not ruling it out, Donald insists that no decision has been made, but he’ll be willing to provide his experience and expertise in some form.
“If I’m not a captain in two years’ time and the captain wants me to be there, then I’m sure I would be happy to help him in any way he wanted,” he said.
In the meantime, he’s looking forward to shifting his focus back to his own playing career, which is something he admits is hard to do with how all-consuming the Ryder Cup captaincy had become.
“In the lead-up to the Ryder Cup, you’re spending five or six weeks just thinking about all kinds of different things, partnerships, pairings, the golf course, the gifting,” he added.
“There’s just so much that goes into it that your mind is kind of clogged.
“I’ve had many nights where I’ve woken up with Ryder Cup dreams and things where I had forgotten my radio one night and there’s still one game out on the course and I was panicking, and I was trying to get to the game. Just things like that.
“It just takes a little bit of time for you to settle down. I think actually coming here, playing a tournament will actually help. It will get my mind more back on what I need to do this week.
“It’s a fun problem to have after a win in the Ryder Cup, but I’m excited to get back to playing.”
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