“They were already in my ear,” Donald said. “I was trying to bat them away and enjoy the moment.”
Back then, Donald was not convinced about going again. Edoardo Molinari, his indispensable assistant of the past two victories, says he “had a few conversations” following the 15-13 win on Long Island. “But,” the Italian adds, “it seemed to me like he wasn’t willing to do it.”
Molinari, who has revolutionized Europe’s approach to these matches with his data-driven approach to strategy and pairings, could understand Donald’s hesitancy over retaining a role in which he had dedicated the previous three years of his life.
“I’m guessing a bit, but after Bethpage there’s nothing else you can do,” Molinari tells TG. “You won one at home – great, everyone wins at home most of the time – but to be able to win one not only away, but in Bethpage, where basically everyone gave us no chance, that’s always going to be impossible to beat.
“But I think he was probably starting to miss it a little bit. Obviously, they offered him the captaincy again. First of all, who’s the someone else? We didn’t really have a clear candidate. He almost feels like the European team is a family for him. I don’t think he wanted to leave that kind of family behind.
“It would be amazing if he could win three times in a row, but even if we didn’t win in Ireland, he still will remember as the best Ryder Cup captain we’ve ever had.”
Donald held further talks with Ryder Cup Europe’s chief exectutive Guy Kinnings in Dubai in January and by this stage had come round to the idea of going for the historic ‘threepeat’.
But there was one condition.
“It was funny,” Molinari smiles, “because he texted me a couple of weeks before it was officially announced saying, ‘I’m warming up to the idea. I might be able to do it.’ But he said, ‘I’m only going to do it if you are willing to help’.
“I’m like, ‘That’s a no-brainer to me. First of all, I think you should do it anyway. Secondly, if you ask me to do it, I’ll walk to Ireland in order to be able to do it.’ Any time you can be involved in the Ryder Cup, in any role, any shape or form, it’s one of the best weeks of your life.”