Luke Donald believes in preparation.
He didn’t become world No. 1 by accident, and he’s brought the same tenacity and work ethic to ensuring that he’s not the first European captain to lose on home soil in 30 years when the Ryder Cup is held from Sept. 29-Oct. 1 at Marco Simone GC in Rome, Italy.
Donald has been planning, scripting for various scenarios so he can take each session as it comes but as he put it, “We’ll have a good plan in place.”
His goal is simple for his team: “I think they’ll be in a good frame of mind, feeling like they can win.”
But to get there, Donald is leaving no stone unturned. For Team Europe, it really began with the Hero World Cup, which pitted a team representing Great Britain and Ireland against a team representing Continental Europe in January. Donald, for instance, got exposed to eventual captain’s pick Sepp Straka, learned from past winning captains such as Thomas Bjorn, Paul McGinley and Jose-Maria Olazabal, as well as vice captain Edoardo Molinari, who doubles as stats guru, and was able to experiment with how his statistical models impacted pairings and the like.
Donald also has become a voracious reader. He said he typically reads a book about every six months but has been on a tear through a section that would make Sun Tzu, author of “The Art of War,” blush.
Here’s a handful of the books Donald tells Golfweek he’s been thumbing through in the lead-up to the Ryder Cup: “The Culture Code: The Secrets of Highly Successful People,” “Belonging: The Ancient Code of Togetherness,” “The Art of Winning,” and “Legacy: What the All Blacks Can Teach Us About the Business of Life.”
“I felt like I needed to just pick up ideas, pick up one little thing that might make a difference,” he said.
He’s also talked to coaches in different sports, including past European Ryder Cup captains. That may sound obvious but it hasn’t always been a given. Donald phoned Tony Jacklin, the inspirational leader who was at the helm when Team Europe ended its losing skid in 1985 and won for the first time on U.S. soil.
“He called me and asked me a couple of things and I was happy to convey what I thought,” Jacklin said. “I think he’s going into this thing with his eyes wide open and he’ll do well.”