DP World Tour season is hot with multiple PGA Tour golfers currently available to compete for some of the biggest tournaments. I’ll be traveling to K Club for this week’s Irish Open and Wentworth to win next week’s BMW PGA Championship. This doubles as a flagship event for the circuit. Many of the familiar faces in the ropes will return at the end of September for the Ryder Cup.
Rory McIlroy, Shane Lowry and Tyrrell Hatton are on the field at the 2025 Ireland Open alongside European Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald. McIlroy will be a favorite of 4-1 or higher in Raleigh’s fourth place on a 16-1 odds board per Fanduel Sportsbook. As it stands, 11 of the 12 players on the European team will play in the BMW PGA Championship next week.
Two years ago, Europe as a whole discovered scaffolding at the BMW PGA Championship, making it seem like every member of the team competed in the final action before playing in Marco Simone’s Ryder Cup. McIlroy explained why time under a gun can be considered positive.
“I want to compete for myself and at least be a little more sharp than I was in the BMW or Tour Championships,” he said. “I thought the ball was hitting, at least in Atlanta. I felt like I hit the ball badly at BMW, but I puttted a lot. Then in Atlanta, I hit the ball better, but puttted a lot.
“These are two big weeks to make sure the game is sharp, but as sharp as you would want, you’re getting caught up in the competition of things on Sunday. It’s important to do that. Ultimately, it’s important to win. (Black).”
McIlroy has been determined about his desire to win the Ryder Cup in American soil since the winner’s press conference in Rome. The eight participants were members of the last European team to achieve a feat in Medina in 2012. And now he will enter this Ryder Cup as the most veteran player on either side.
This is the experience of Europe tilting as it returns 11 of the 12 players from the winning team in 2023. Players like Robert McInteal have played an additional role from Ryder Cup rookies to major championship candidates and candidates. Laurie is likewise an elder politician to tee up it in America’s second, third Ryder Cup.
“It feels like we have the same team as last time, and it feels like everyone has become better players,” Laurie said. “So I think we have a better chance. That would be difficult. You shouldn’t copy and paste from what you did in Rome because the challenges are big and the golf courses play differently. I know if they’re planning on changing that.
“Yeah, our team feels very, very accomplished. A lot of people are playing well. I’m very excited about Beth Page. We played really well in the last few rounds. But it’s going to be another golf course in the Ryder Cup. Twice a week.”
His roster is roughly the same, and Donald follows a similar blueprint in terms of preparation. He leads his reconnaissance trip to Bethpage Black at the end of the BMW PGA Championship. Europe charters flights to New York where the team will play Beth Page Black for two days.
“We hope that golf courses aren’t actually set up like the US Open,” Donald said. “Obviously, these are 12 world-class players who understand how to prepare themselves in the right way to give time to big events like the Ryder Cup. I’m not involved in it. They have a team. They understand the best ways to practice.
“We give them a rather detailed statistical roadmap of what the course thinks it will require, what has happened in the past, and what they can see and give to them, and that is what they want.
Donald’s idea is to keep his team in the same time zone once his team arrives. To ensure that the bodies of his 12 players do not have similarities in jet lags.
