On Tuesday, Luke Donald announced the decision to have Thomas Bjorn on his team as the vice-captain for the 2025 Ryder Cup at Bethpage. Donald reinstated his confidence in the golfer after relishing victory with him in 2023 at Rome. This will be Thomas Bjorn’s sixth appearance as a vice-captain and his 10th time being a part of Team Europe. Thomas Bjorn explained how Luke Donald called him up for the New York venture, and that they had previously had discussion regarding the decision.
“Luke called me and said he wanted me to carry on into New York, understanding that it’s going to be a completely different Ryder Cup in 2025 at Bethpage. We had some conversations back and forth mostly about how to go from the victory in Rome and into a new set up for New York, debriefing on what happened in Rome and how we carry it forward.”
Luke Donald is excited about having Thomas Bjorn back as their vice-captain, and he spoke regarding them in an interview. The Team Europe captain said that he and Bjorn shared a great relationship and he’d always count on him for the Ryder Cup.
“I am very excited to have Thomas back on the team…Once I was appointed as Captain again, my thoughts quickly went to who I wanted to have in the backroom staff. And Thomas certainly was one of those. He means a lot to me. He’s passed on his knowledge and I’ve had a great relationship with him over the last few years.”
Quite evidently, the best of friends make the best teams and that was witnessed in Rome after Team Europe triumphed over America with a 16.5–11.5.
How Team Europe Defeated Team US On Its Own Soil In Rome
Team Europe’s performance at the Friday foursomes displayed their dominance on European soil, after they ended up winning all four matches. Then, during the Friday fourballs, Luke Donald’s team tied for the first three matches, but ended up winning the last match which saw Rory McIlroy and Matt Fitzpatrick go against Collin Morikawa and Xander Schauffele.
The Saturday foursomes of three matches were won by Europe, and the US team ended up clinching just one triumph. The singles saw Europe winning five matches, while the team tied in two matches.
With exceptional performances from Viktor Hovland, Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler, Team Europe managed to stop the Americans from breaking a three decade-old streak of not winning the biennial tournament on European soil. Although Team USA has won the most Ryder Cup editions, Team Europe has come out victorious in ten of the last fourteen editions of the event.
