It may not be a big fan of it, but the 2025 Ryder Cup is very close.
Very close.
After this week’s BMW International Open, only six weeks of competitive action was conducted on the DP World Tour before the European team was finalized, meaning golf in Munich and the action this summer – crucial to identifying a dozen players from Luke Donald who will represent the continental conflict on the Golf Continental.
Winning in New York is not easy.
“I’ve been saying it for a long time,” Rory McIlroy said after his victory in Rome two years ago. “Winning the Ryder Cup is one of the toughest tasks of golf. But that’s what we’re going to do.”
Given the final day of Rome drama, it’s no surprise that it’s a bullish attitude, but it’s also the past – and September’s Bethpage Black is in the future.
The Ryder Cup is a hot topic at the BMW International Open as fans, media and players themselves are thinking about the choice of European captain Donald.
But what clues have been dropped by GolfClub Munchen Eichenried? Let’s take a closer look.
Is Patrick Reed and Sergio Garcia’s Ryder Cup entrusted to history?
The United States and Espanyol both played in Germany last week. Reed made his mark from his first Liv Golf victory in Dallas, and Garcia is pleased to have recently qualified for this year’s Liv Golf rankings.
So, in a sense, they have form.
They are also Ryder Cup legends. Reed once called Captain America and won Rory McIlroy in one of the big singles competitions in history. Garcia won Ryder Cup points more than any other European golfer won.
But are they done? Both sides want to play again, but the reality may be that they have done it. Garcia, once so boy, has begun to look like a veteran, will be the focus of a vicious New York gallery. His best bet is probably the character behind the scenes with his friend Donald.
Reed won Liv, but he was in his favor. He may need a top three in the Open, and maybe even a win – forcing our captain Keegan Bradley’s hand.
The two missed the Bavarian cuts and did not help their hopes for the Ryder Cup redemption.
What does Luke Donald play in a potential draft pick?
Luke Donald plays with Jordan Smith and David Puig, perhaps worth noting. The former is one of the most stable performers on the DP World Tour, and the latter is a young Spanish Liv golf star.
Both can be Donald’s team, although they need an amazing summer run.
But when Golf365 asked the captain what he was looking for when playing a potential draft pick, he played with Ludvig Aberg for the first time.
“You can say,” he said. “The same thing happened when I first played with Rory McIlroy. Both I know were passed down from generation to generation.”
It’s a tough task for others who play with Donald.
Impress him – really turning his head – requires outrageous qualities.
Luke Donald’s Critical 13th Man
There are many people who may ignore Edoardo Molinari.
The Italian is still active on the DP world tour, but he strolls along the route, like many close middle-aged people, with sparse hair.
What he looks like: a nice guy.
But when Donald mentions Dodo, you can tell him how valuable he is to the team. The conversation about his friends was almost a noble tone, as Molinari liked statistics, and his number was crucial to Rome’s success: it was he who urged a quick start, directing the captain’s draft pick, winning from the course winner, who suggested winning the partnership.
“Dodo has been studying Bethpage Black’s data,” Donald told Golf365. “We also took the course over a year ago. We already had ideas.”
Donald is a sharp operator. In another world, you can imagine him directing a company giant to record broken profits.
All good leaders know the importance of an effective delegation, and Donald-Dodo’s partnership remains crucial to retaining hopes for the Ryder Cup.
Is it possible to qualify for the European team while on the DP World Tour?
Whispering, but is it probably too difficult for players who only play in the DP World Tour?
Ranking is now based on the world ranking points – not just the list of DP World Tour events.
And there are only six guaranteed attractions.
So, for everything Smith and Puig tried to push Donald, they had a big difficulty in front of them.
At the beginning of the BMW International Open, the top 15 names in the ranking were all PGA Tour Card holders.
Five young men playing in Munich may be future Ryder Cup stars
Donald saw one of the close-ups: David Puig of Spain. He has three top 10 this year, two-time Asian Tour champions, and before arriving in Munich, he finished the top 12 in the last five DP World Tours.
He told Golf365: “It was my dream to play for Europe in the Ryder Cup. That’s why I got up in the morning and worked hard for it.”
Paul McKinley was impressed by Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen when the 2014 Ryder Cup captain was watching the Ryder Cup warm-up in Abu Dhabi in January. He hasn’t won the main tour yet, but was T12 in the U.S. Open last month.
Frenchman Martin Couvra has impressed with his blonde hair and his very good golf course this season.
“A little special,” said Tim Barter, Sky Sports in Germany, following him in Italy the week before. He is the winner of Türkiye and can easily win again.
If Couvra had blond hair, the Spanish angel Ayora had a black hair.
He has made a bigger reputation on the 2024 Challenge Tour but has not yet lived up to it, but he is much like Couvra – a slight framework but a big game.
Another Danish, Jacob Slov Olesen, won last year’s amateur title and took a spot in this year’s Masters.
“The problem is, I want to turn around, I need it,” he told Golf365.
The decision must be made, missed the Augusta State, but it turns out he is right. He is expected to win the DP World Tour title in his rookie year…
