European Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald is looking forward to keeping his focus on the course when he tees it up at this week’s Turkish Airlines Open.
Juggling leading your continent into an away Ryder Cup and maintaining a competitive schedule is an almost impossible task even for a former World Number One, and Donald’s appearance this week will be just his fourth worldwide in 2025.
He will also be playing at next week’s US PGA Championship and while he will use part of his time at Regnum Carya to catch up with some of his Bethpage hopefuls, he is looking forward to a fortnight of competitive action.
“These weeks where I'm playing on the golf course are bit more relaxing, to be honest,” he said. “I get my brain off the Ryder Cup and onto being a competitive golfer, which I'm more used to.
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“So, I enjoy these weeks, but it's a good opportunity to catch up with some of the European players I don't see as much in the US.
“Really enjoying it so far. You know, great hospitality. It's a really, really good golf course, just presents itself really nicely.
“You've got the hotel here, which is fantastic, same for the food. It has everything for a world class event. They've obviously proven in the past that it can hold great events with great fields, and it's nice to see the DP World Tour back in Türkiye.
“The game feels, pretty solid, to be honest. You know, I always have higher expectations for myself. My results haven't been as good as I would like this year, but I’m constantly working at it, and, you never know when, you know, some magic might happen.
“Scheduling wise, I wanted to play before the PGA Championship, which I'm playing next week. I know I'm quite far away from there, but I had to be over in Ireland for a couple of corporate things, and (this event) fit my schedule, and, you know, I remember 2014 quite well. Just beautiful weather, beautiful golf courses and great hotels. So, it seemed like a good fit for me.”
Some of Donald’s potential European stars will be able to enjoy same comforts over the coming weeks as the European Swing begins, made up of six counting events, five of which are national opens.
And with many of his prospective team flying on both sides of the Atlantic, led by Rory McIlroy, who has three wins on the PGA TOUR this season including the Masters, Donald is excited by the challenge to come in September in what promises to a bear pit of an atmosphere.
“I’m very excited,” he said. “Obviously a big challenge ahead, we know how difficult it is to win away.
“New York will be a tough environment, but you know, I've been very happy with the momentum of a lot of the strong European players and they've been playing very well, so I'm excited about where we are right now.
“Obviously, a lot of golf left, three more Majors and another one coming up next week. So, I'm excited to be there.”
