Luke Donald has named Paul McGinley as Strategic Adviser to the 2025 European Ryder Cup Team, adding further vast experience behind the scenes to Europe’s quest to retain the trophy at Bethpage Black in New York next September.
Having already named Thomas Bjørn and Edoardo Molinari – who were alongside him at Marco Simone last year – as Vice Captains once again, the addition of McGinley by Captain Donald adds considerable additional know-how and understanding of the Ryder Cup arena to Team Europe’s build-up and preparation.
The Irishman led Europe to victory in the 2014 Ryder Cup at Gleneagles in Scotland, having previously featured on three winning teams as a player, and twice more as a Vice Captain.
In addition, since 2019, the 57 year old Dubliner has also been part of the Ryder Cup Advisory Committee which was set up to help maximise the commercial impact of the contest. He will continue in that role, alongside Chair Sir Damon Buffini, Ian Ritchie and Richard Scudamore.
McGinley said: “It is clear we have built a very strong template for winning at home in Ryder Cups but I see my job as helping Luke, his Vice Captains and his backroom team to look at an away match differently to how we’ve looked at it before.
“I would say that the first important step we made in that regard was to reappoint Luke as Captain. He has the most recent experience of anyone in that role and we should look to utilise that experience and harness his knowledge.
“In addition to advising strategically on an away match, I see this role as two-fold for me. Firstly, I will be very much in the background as an independent sounding board for Luke and his Vice Captains, someone they can confide in, converse with and bounce ideas off.
“Secondly, I will provide an important link between Luke and the Advisory Committee so that not only are they aware of team plans, but also to ensure we are all pulling in the same direction.”
McGinley is perfectly placed to advise on the particular challenge of winning a Ryder Cup away from home having done precisely that on two occasions; firstly as a player in 2004 at Oakland Hills under Bernhard Langer, and secondly as a Vice Captain to José María Olazábal at Medinah in 2012.
In both those matches the link to current Captain Donald was present; partnering the Englishman in his very first Ryder Cup match on the Friday morning in 2004 and having him as one of the players assigned to mentor as Vice Captain in 2012, the match where Donald led Europe’s Sunday singles order to the greatest comeback in Ryder Cup history.
Donald said: “Paul is someone whose thoughts and opinions on golf I have always respected. We have talked a lot over the past few years and those conversations are always stimulating and challenging. He is someone that you have to listen to when talk turns to the Ryder Cup. Naturally, I am delighted to have him formally involved with the 2025 team.
“I might not have been at Gleneagles in 2014 but I know what an amazing job Paul did. He redefined a lot of the Ryder Cup Captain’s role with his meticulous approach to it, and I feel every Captain since 2014 has benefited in some way from what he achieved at Gleneagles.
“I personally got a lot of sound guidance from Paul in the build up to Rome which was a massive help to me. Myself and Paul, as well as my two Vice Captains, Edoardo and Thomas, all have similar beliefs as to what it means to represent Team Europe and what we expect from our players.”
Donald led Europe to a 16½ – 11½ victory against the United States at Marco Simone Golf & Country Club in Rome, Italy, last year. He was reappointed to the role in November, becoming Europe’s first repeat Captain since Bernard Gallacher led Team Europe in three consecutive Ryder Cups in 1991, 1993 and 1995.
The former World Number One is now aiming to become only the second Captain to lead Europe to victories both home and away, following Tony Jacklin who achieved the double at Muirfield Village in Ohio in 1987, retaining the Ryder Cup following his team’s victory two years previously at The Belfry, in England, in 1985.