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<\/p>\nLuke Donald\u2019s plan to stem the tide of Ryder Cup history and a series of one-sided home wins is becoming clearer. It will involve a two-day reconnaissance trip to Bethpage Black, the omission of Sergio Garc\u00eda and tactics on dealing with the hostile New York crowd.<\/p>\n
Europe\u2019s captain is playing in the British Masters, the final qualifying event, with one automatic place still in doubt. That will go to Rasmus Hojgaard if he finishes tied 29th or better at the Belfry, or Shane Lowry if he fails to do so.<\/p>\n
The six captain\u2019s picks are also not far from being decided and if Hojgaard does make the automatic berths the 24-year-old is likely to be the only change to the team that won in Rome, with his twin brother, Nicolai, the solitary absentee from the 2023 line-up.<\/p>\n
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Europe are looking to snap a run of away losses with neither team having won on a rival course since 2012\u2019s Miracle of Medinah<\/p>\n
TIMES PHOTOGRAPHER MARC ASPLAND<\/p>\n
Harry Hall, playing in the FedEx Cup finale at the Tour Championship in Atlanta, still harbours hope of a pick but Donald\u2019s selections look far easier than those facing his American counterpart Keegan Bradley, who is still to confirm if he will become the first player-captain since 1963.<\/p>\n
Without having to worry about his own game, Donald laid out some of his captaincy plans. Europe will charter a plane to fly to New York immediately after the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth next month. The 12 players will then play nine holes on Monday and 18 on Tuesday, and will be expected to stay in the United States until the Ryder Cup the following week. <\/p>\n
\u201cSome of those guys have places in America,\u201d Donald, 47, said. \u201cFor me, it would be more ideal to stay in the United States rather than go back and forth and deal with jet lag. There will also be a chance for some of them to hang out for a two-week period.\u201d<\/p>\n
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A Ryder Cup legend for Europe, Garc\u00eda is struggling for form and has seemingly fallen out of Donald\u2019s plans<\/p>\n
PATRICK MCDERMOTT\/GETTY IMAGES<\/p>\n
That is a marked difference to the American approach two years ago, when many of the team had not played any competitive golf for five weeks between the Tour Championship and the Ryder Cup. In addition, not all of the team went on a reconnaissance visit to Rome.<\/p>\n
Next month\u2019s trip is considered a key part of planning because of the way Ryder Cup courses are set up to benefit the home team. The primary change to Bethpage Black from its appearance when staging majors will be the rough, which will be cut to around 2.5 inches; it can be double that during majors. Last year Bethpage Black\u2019s course superintendent, Mike Hadley, said of Bradley: \u201cHe wants bombers.\u201d<\/p>\n
Europe have big-hitters, too, with the likes of Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm, but Matt Fitzpatrick, hoping to seal a pick with his display at the Belfry, said set-up was the main reason behind the run of home wins. \u201cI think it\u2019s getting out of hand and you\u2019re playing two different styles of course,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I played at Hazeltine [in 2016], I didn\u2019t really hit it out of [my own] shadow at that point, and that\u2019s a disaster at that place.\u201d<\/p>\n
The hostility of the New York crowd will be another factor and Donald noted how Bob MacIntyre had shushed the most irritating fans during the third round at last week\u2019s BMW Championship. Did he welcome that sort of interaction? <\/p>\n
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