Caddy Billy Foster hugs Luke Donald earlier in the week during the 2023 Ryder Cup.
A Family
This month may not be heavy on Ryder Cup news, with 10 months to go before the 2025 event and very little golf being played that could affect the teams that will meet in Bethpage. But thanks to a documentary titled A FamilySHE feels like Ryder Cup time.
The reason lies in the film’s timeline, which jumps back and forth between the beginning of the film Cup 2023held in Rome, and forward to next year’s Cup, held in New York. As we inch closer to the next one, we get further away from the last one. That makes now the perfect time to take a behind-the-scenes look at how these events play out. And especially, why Europe dominated Italy.
The final score was 16.5 to 11.5, but as you can see in the film, there were a number of strings that captain Luke Donald pulled to create a sense of team between individuals, corpses and families. Below are eight quotes from the film – which you can watch below – that explain how Europe came together victoriously.
“It felt like we were together for three weeks.” – Jon Rahm
Much has been made in recent years about the scouting trips these teams take ahead of time. Well, Europe made a trip to Marco Simone ahead of the Ryder Cup, which has been hailed as a deeply important team bonding mission. It is also for preparatory work for courses.
The week after that scouting trip was the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth, where every European member competed, stayed in the same hotel, dined together, etc. Add in Ryder Cup week and that’s why Jon Rahm said it felt like they had most of a month together.
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“These are the best days of your life.” – Billy Foster
There are 12 players who are selected, who score goals, who win glory, etc. But Luke Donald wanted everyone behind these 12 players to feel as important as the pros. So earlier in the week at Marco Simone, Donald gathered the 12 corpses together and presented longtime golfer Billy Foster (Matt Fitzpatrick’s caddy) with a Ryder Cup trophy of his own.
Each player from a winning Ryder Cup team gets a trophy designed for them to hold, but this one was specially designed for a corpse that had already won 16 Cups. Foster was surprised and grateful for the recognition, offering a few words to his fellow corpses about what lay ahead: the best days of their lives.
“How many times are you going to sit down and cry with someone you play against every week and be absolutely fine with it?” – Tommy Fleetwood
On the Monday evening of Ryder Cup week, Donald planned with the wives and girlfriends of the team to have each player in their hotel rooms at exactly 5 p.m., when they would receive a special video from one of his their loved ones. For some, the message came from a sibling, for others just a close friend. For Tommy Fleetwood, it was a message from his son, Frankie.
When the European team gathered immediately after these messages were distributed, they saw a video summary of all the messages and soon the players were in tears. As soon as Fleetwood started crying, Jon Rahm started crying. Both talked about how sharing their vulnerability made them feel even closer as teammates.
“I feel like part of the family.” – Novak Djokovic
Yes, Novak Djokovic, the tennis great. Donald brought Djokovic to speak to his team earlier in the week. The message, as Donald explained on the No Laying Up podcast, was one about succeeding when the crowd isn’t necessarily behind you. While it may have been more appropriate for a week off the Ryder Cup, Djokovic’s presence was an exciting thing for the Euros, according to multiple players and players. These types of plays happen during Ryder Cup week more than other major golf weeks, and they don’t always yield positive results. But in the case of the ’23 Cup, we have an inspirational celebrity speech and a European victory. Hard to knock.
“We were greeted almost like rock stars.” – Ludwig Aberg
It wasn’t all Luke Donald’s planning that kicked off the Ryder Cup. There was plenty of Diane Donald planning, too, including the team’s appearance on the famous Spanish Steps in downtown Rome. Apparently it’s pretty rare to pull the trigger for a private event, but Diane’s idea was embraced by the local government and created a warm welcome for the teams two nights before the event began.
Spectators lined up in a semicircle at the base of the stairs in an arrival that mirrored a red carpet premiere. Or, as Ludvig Aberg said, the arrival of rock stars.
“Well done ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Ryder Cup.” – Luke Donald
Italy is not a massive golf country. This was part of a possible concern about bringing the event to the rural outskirts of Rome. Would the spectators turn out in droves and feel like an imposing home crowd for the Euros?
The answer was definitive yes once Donald began his ceremonial speech with multiple sentences of near-perfect Italian. The first words out of his mouth, listed above, translate to “Dear guests, ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Ryder Cup.” It’s a very simple idea, but it took hundreds of days of Italian lessons at Duo Lingo for Donald to feel comfortable addressing the world in a non-native language. And one that drew the massive crowd that was waiting for the rookie couples and injected the event with energy.
“How well we won that session.” – Shane Lowry
Delivered in his classic Irish accent, Shane-O was stunned to see the Euros win the first session 4-0. But he was overjoyed on Friday night as they stole the second session as well. The final half of the game saw Viktor Hovland hit a long birdie putt to secure half a point, Rahm buried a long eagle putt to tie his match and Justin Rose made a 10-footer just moments later. later to reverse his match. in a tie. Europe 2.5 – Americans 1.5. If it felt like the momentum had been built by the Americans, in about 30 minutes it was stolen, leaving Lowry as dazed as he was confused.
“I’ve been involved in many Ryder Cups and I’ve seen many more, and in my opinion, the team’s performance as a collective in Italy was the best I’ve ever seen from a European team.” – Paul McGinley
It is true. McGinley has been involved in many Cups. Three times as a player, once as main captain and other times as vice-captain or advisor. In his mind, during the 2023 Cup, Europe had no “back” in the event. No one appeared out of shape. And honestly, he thought the three best players in the world were all wearing blue – Jon Rahm, Rory McIlroy and Viktor Hovland – and they all showed up. This is what The 2023 Cup came down to.
