On the wall of European carefully designed player accommodations at Bethpage Black, there were inspirational photos of winning teams and Game of the Game motivational quotes from last year’s team. Perhaps the most vibrant of all comes from the incredible source of information, the US Captain Keegan Bradley.
“We go to Beth Page and kick their f******’s ass,” he said in the buildup. These words were written in giant white prints on the blue walls of European living spaces, with Bradley’s name under his belongings. After winning the Cup 15-13 on Sunday, Shane Laurie made sure to take a picture of her smiling face with the quote while drinking beer.
This was one of hundreds of small details that led to Europe’s incredible Ryder Cup victory. When Luke Donald was first awarded captain prior to the 2023 Ryder Cup in Rome, one of the first steps he took was to educate himself about the role, and he read many books on sports and life leadership.
He learned the importance of clear communication. That’s why he prioritized close contact with players outside of the Ryder Cup season and made it clear earlier about his preferred pairing. His most important point was that effective leaders provide simple and clear goals for the team to pursue.
In Rome, the goal was simple. It’s about regaining the Ryder Cup. But Donald felt that he needed a fresh message in New York. He used a statement from Rory McIlroy two years ago to shape the Away Rider Cup, the most difficult feat in the sport and his goals for creating history. Their new mission was to become the fifth European team to win in America.
Donald came up with the catchphrase “Our Time,” designed to send messages home. The phrase is covered in all of the team’s social media content, and was the last one that European players saw while walking from the locker room to the first tee.
He commissioned a moving video featuring many of the 37 Europeans, including Justin Rose, McIlroy and Donald himself, who were part of Medina’s miracles, as if they had won the Away Ryder Cup. It reinforced the sense that they were performing for their place in a bigger story, Donald is a message repeated in his speech at the opening ceremony.
Donald continued playing golf, but he devoted himself to captain in a way that Bradley didn’t. His relationship with Data Guru Edoardo Molinari was extremely important, and all European pairings had to be approved by Molinari’s model analysing the optimal DUO of Foursomes and Fourballs.
Donald felt it was important to retain 11 of the same players in Rome under roughly the same leadership. The data revealed that the rookies don’t work well when the Ryder Cup debuts from home, so Europe has adjusted its selection criteria and is suitable for experienced players.
The main focus was recovery. McIlroy, Larm and Tommy Fleetwood were expected to play five rounds in the heat in three days. Europe brought their own bedding and players were able to get a comfortable night’s sleep. They discovered a crack in the hotel room door, lit up and blocked it. They even brought their own sweet scented shampoo.
Donald’s strategic advisor Paul McGinley boasted that Team Europe has spent more money than ever before, showing it in a bespoke locker room built in Beth Page Black for the three-day competition. The athletes had a vast gym to warm up and cool down in the baths and sauna. They also had bedrooms on site to get a good rest for the same bedding as the hotel.
They deployed virtual reality headsets to mimic the hostile American crowd. This is a strategy that most of the time golf is at work. Donald asked speakers, including former English rugby captain Owen Farrell, to share their experiences. Andy Murray and Roger Federer also delivered motivational video messages in the team room.
It wasn’t necessarily helpful to hit Beth Page’s fairway drive or sent a putt rolling into the cup. Europeans still had to go out and play great golf. But Donald wanted to keep the stones from turning over and make them fully prepared so that their minds would be clear when they stood on the ball.
It has returned to its comprehensive message, its mission to make history. In European changing rooms, those words, “Our time. Our place,” were written on each seat in their native language. The previous four victory dates were written on the walls in 1987, 1995, 2004 and 2012. And hanging all week was four shirts from previous winning teams in Europe.
Donald asked the players to add another shirt on the rail, and they delivered.
