After the joyful “Oles” which greeted the lifting of the trophy, the players spontaneously sang their own song. And it was revealing.
“Two more years,” shouted these jubilant golfers as a smiling Donald held the precious pot of gold under the Rome sun in early October.
The Englishman had steered the continent to one of its most impressive performances, bouncing back from a record defeat to the United States in 2021. Not bad for someone who wasn’t even first choice for the job .
After the continent secured their 16½-11½ victory, the task of trying to defend the trophy in New York in 2025 would still fall to Donald if he wanted it.
The 45-year-old former world number one has been an exceptional captain in Italy and is, by far, the most qualified figure to lead Europe in their quest for a rare away victory.
Rory McIlroy says winning a Ryder Cup without the benefit of home support and course layout is one of the toughest tasks in golf. He is right. Europe last did this in 2012 and before that in 2004.
It should be noted that Donald participated in both of these competitions.
The United States, meanwhile, has failed to triumph in its travels since 1993 and, given the way the European captain outplayed and outmotivated his counterpart, Zach Johnson, in Rome, this losing streak doesn’t ‘ever threatened to end this fall.
“It was very rewarding and very humbling to lift that trophy on Sunday afternoon and hear the players want me to come back,” said Donald, who came after original captain Henrik Stenson opted to join LIV Golf, told BBC Sport.
“I didn’t want to disappoint the guys after they were so supportive of me trying to start again, but it wasn’t until a few weeks ago that we really sat down and talked with my family and decided that It was a great opportunity.”
Donald is driven by the desire to make history. Only Tony Jacklin led Europe to success on both sides of the Atlantic, with victories in 1985 and two years later at Muirfield Village in Ohio, dramatically ending six decades of unbeaten home runs. for the United States.
With his reappointment, Donald has the opportunity to rise to the rank of Jacklin. He has already played on four winning teams, including those two away triumphs at Oak Hill and Medinah.
“The idea that I could potentially create history as the second European captain to win back-to-back appeals to me,” added Donald.
“I’ve always loved those challenges and that’s what motivates me and that was a big part of the decision.”
At Bethpage in 2025, it’s possible he could come up against an American team led by Tiger Woods, although the 15-time major champion distanced himself from that prospect when he spoke to reporters in the Bahamas earlier this week.
“I’d be happy to fight anyone,” Donald said. “If it’s Tiger, it’s great, if it’s anyone else, it’s great. My job now is to focus on my plans and put my team together, the qualification process and all that kind of stuff.”
The skipper will have to decide whether to keep six wildcard picks and whether to change the qualifying criteria, especially with more European talent graduating from the PGA Tour in the United States.
“Those are the kinds of thoughts I will have over the next few weeks and months,” Donald said. “That will be a priority. In terms of qualification, we will have to think about it in depth and determine what will be the best way to achieve this, to give ourselves the best opportunity for success again.”
Donald will lead his team against what is expected to be a loud and potentially hostile New York crowd in Bethpage.
“Ryder Cups are always passionate. We see that in every match and it will be no different in New York,” he said.
“We know they are loud, we know they will be loud and I now have 22 months to try to come up with plans to counter that.”
And he knows that his role will be different during his second term. He will have no say in the course set up and the order of the debates and he will also have to adapt his own strategies to meet the challenge of an away match.
“It won’t be copy and paste from 2023,” he said. “We’ll have to think about new things to fit into this Ryder Cup captaincy.”
Having managed a relatively young team in Italy, there is a good chance many of these Roman heroes will remain on duty for the 2025 game. “I would love to have all 12 guys there again,” smiles Donald.
“Who knows if that will happen? There are always emerging talents who will fill those roles, but we had a good mix of experienced players and promising young talents.”
No matter what his team is made of, Donald will motivate them to become history makers.
“History is extremely important,” he said. “It was a central message to inspire those who were on duty in the last match.
“I now have some opportunities to create my own story as captain. But there are a lot of pieces to put into the puzzle before that can happen.”