CHARLOTTE — Luke Donald likes what he sees from European golfers coming into this week’s PGA Championship.
He’ll be the captain of the European staff on the Ryder Cup in September.
“It is all the time good when potential guys in your staff are up there every week enjoying towards the strongest fields in golf and doing extraordinarily effectively,” Donald mentioned Wednesday, the day earlier than the start of the PGA Championship at Quail Hole.
Donald mentioned he is aware of the development of his Ryder Cup staff will come from varied components, some stemming from statistics. However he mentioned there’s additionally determining potential pairings for matches and the way sure golfers may fare on the Bethpage Black Course in Farmingdale, N.Y.
With a number of months earlier than the Ryder Cup, Donald mentioned he would not wish to leap to conclusions by way of the roster.
“It is slightly too early but,” he mentioned. “We nonetheless have three majors, a bunch of elevated occasions.”
There’s additionally evaluating golfers on the LIV Tour as a result of they will not naturally rank excessive within the factors techniques used. Donald mentioned there’s a lot knowledge accessible that it is comparatively easy to find out how sure golfers are enjoying.
However with the majors, such because the PGA Championship, there’s an opportunity for one more stage of evaluation.
“Clearly the majors are vital,” Donald mentioned. “I believe that is the time when everybody will get collectively on good golf programs and you’ve got stacked fields. Simply to see how they’re enjoying in these is one other level that we consider rather a lot.”
The European captain additionally mentioned with this 12 months’s Ryder Cup going down on U.S. soil, that have charges as a better precedence.
“Individuals who have been capable of deal with these massive moments underneath probably the most scrutiny, these main championships,” he mentioned. “It is going to be one thing that would give somebody an edge in the event that they’re on a really related enjoying area by way of statistics.”
As an example, Donald mentioned that he would count on that Spain’s Jon Rahm — a member of the LIV circuit — could be on the staff, however there have been no assurances expressed about such a call.
“He nonetheless must hold going and enjoying identical to everybody else,” Donald mentioned.
Rahm mentioned there’s respect for the place that Donald is in. Rahm want to change into an automated qualifier, so it isn’t left as much as a call.
“It is his staff,” Rahm mentioned of Donald. “Hopefully I can qualify, and we do not have to query it.”
In the meantime, the 47-year-old Donald would not wish to completely dismiss his position as an entrant on this week’s occasion.
“I prefer to work on my recreation, hold working at it and enjoying majors is all the time enjoyable,” he mentioned. “The environment, enjoying on world-class golf programs towards world-class area, testing your recreation. It is going to be a take a look at for me this week.”
–Bob Sutton, Discipline Degree Media
