Inside Europe's early Ryder Cup team trip to 'immaculate' Adare Manor

It may still be a year to go until Team Europe's bid for a historic Ryder Cup threepeat, but Luke Donald has already had many of his prospective line-up together at Adare Manor. Although not quite a full scouting mission like Donald provided ahead of previous Ryder Cup wins at Marco Simone GC and Bethpage Black, it gave many of his potential players an early experience of tackling next year's Ryder Cup venue in Ireland.

A mix of established Ryder Cup members and likely rookie contenders made the trip after the Amgen Irish Open, with a team dinner followed by 18 holes on Monday

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Sixteen players joined Donald and his vice-captains for the team session ahead of travelling onto the DP World Tour's BMW PGA Championship - 10 of last year's line-up, two more with past Ryder Cup pedigree and four potential debutants.

"Any time I'm asked to go to Adare Manor, I'm going to go happily and willingly," said Jon Rahm. "It's one of the best hotel golf course experiences there is in the world.

"It was a lot of fun. It was very enjoyable. I think those days are great for all of us to see each other and just in a way remember why we do what we do.

"For those players who have never been there before, I think it's just getting those first nerves out of the way of how they may feel.

Who made the trip to Adare Manor?

Only Rory McIlroy and Rasmus Hojgaard were missing from Donald's dozen that celebrated a 15-13 victory in New York. Alex Noren - a winner in 2018 and vice-captain last year - and Nicolai Hojgaard, part of the 2023 team, also made the trip.

Alex Fitzpatrick and Kristoffer Reitan both featured after impressive rookie campaigns on the PGA Tour, while Spanish duo Eugenio Chacarra and Ángel Ayora were the other newcomers involved.

Most travelled straight from the Amgen Irish Open, with Shane Lowry a later arrival after his record-breaking 11-shot win on home soil at Trump International Golf Links.

"It was a lovely boys' day out, in the sense we got together and had a nice dinner," Justin Rose told the Sky Sports podcast. "There was some intention-setting of what it means to be on the team and what the plans are going forward.

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"The round itself yesterday was very casual, very fun and just a first look at the golf course. Having Adare Manor pretty much to yourself is a pretty special experience.

"For them [rookies], it lights the fire even more in them to want to be a part of that team. It gives them the comfort to feel like they're already part of the team, in the sense of [being in] Luke's thoughts, the way of doing things and how the captain goes about it.

"It doesn't necessarily feel like a game-changing trip and 'wow, we have an advantage' or anything like that, but I think it's very important in terms of culture setting and all that."

What were course conditions like?

The European players went out in groups of four for a round in calm conditions, with some playing the course for the first time and others refamiliarizing themselves with a venue that previously hosted the JP McManus Pro-Am.

"With the good weather they've had in Europe, in Ireland, it was in as good a shape as I've ever seen it," Rahm added. "It was actually firm. They could have had it as fast as they wanted to.

"It wasn't overly fast because obviously I think they want the public to still enjoy the week. It was in perfect condition. It was immaculate."

The last two Ryder Cups in Europe have been on venues used for regular DP World Tour events, with Le Golf National (2018) a past site of the Open de France and Marco Simone GC (2023) the Open d'Italia, giving Donald a different challenge in Ireland.

"The strategy around setting up the course is very different from when they have a lot of data from the [DP World] Tour," Noren explained. "It's a very difficult task to set that up, I think, to our advantage. We'll see how they do.

"It's the course and the resources where you can set it up pretty much however you want - you can grow in the rough, you can expand, and you can use tee boxes. It's like not particularly a blank sheet of paper, but you can do whatever you want."

Who else was missing and what happens next?

PGA Championship winner Aaron Rai was invited but unable to attend due to a close friend's wedding in Portugal on Sunday, while Tom McKibbin - who played two rounds with Donald in Ireland last week - was not involved.

Ryder Cup qualification is already under way, with points only available via the Race to Dubai standings for the rest of this season before including FedExCup points in January, with Rose expecting to see some new editions in Team Europe next September.

"I think freshening it up a little bit would be a good thing," Rose admitted. "You want your team to be experienced but to have some fresh energy is always great. Whether that be ideas, style of game, pairing options - to change is up is a good thing.

"There's plenty of opportunity for guys to break through. I think the transition from Whistling Straits (2021) into Rome was fantastic and I think that only strengthened into solidifying some of those players that stepped into that role at Bethpage.

There are so many good young players, like the Højgaards [Nicolai and Rasmus], Ludvig [Åberg], even Bob [MacIntyre]. Those guys are now real stalwarts of the team. There has been a great transition in Europe, so we can afford another new batch of youngsters."

Could consistency be key again for Team Europe?

Europe carried 11 of their 12-man line-up and four of the five vice-captains from their 2023 victory to New York in 2025, with the Molinari brothers - Edoardo and Francesco - already confirmed for a third consecutive stint in Donald's backroom team.

Padraig Harrington has been added as a vice-captain on home soil, while McIlroy anticipates the bulk of Donald's last two teams to be back together again in Ireland.

"If there's ever a place to blend rookies, it is in Europe," McIlroy told Sky Sports. "The thing that I preach around the European Ryder Cup team is there's this continuity.

"I think continuity between the captain, the players, the vice captains is a big thing in a team environment. Look, inevitably there might be some new faces on that team, but I don't think there's certainly not going to be wholesale changes.

"I think the nucleus of our team will remain the nucleus. You might have a couple [new] maybe, but I'd say for the most part, as long as everyone plays well and stays injury-free, you're going to have a very similar looking team to what we've had the last couple."

The Ryder Cup will be held from September 17-19 next year, live on Sky Sports. Donald will be looking to be the first captain in history to win three consecutive Ryder Cups.

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Source: Sky Sports