{"id":292479,"date":"2023-09-25T22:34:08","date_gmt":"2023-09-25T22:34:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/allmysportsnews.com\/?p=292479"},"modified":"2023-09-25T22:34:08","modified_gmt":"2023-09-25T22:34:08","slug":"riath-al-samarrai-luke-donald-backs-young-guns-to-defeat-americans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/allmysportsnews.com\/golf\/riath-al-samarrai-luke-donald-backs-young-guns-to-defeat-americans\/","title":{"rendered":"RIATH AL-SAMARRAI: Luke Donald backs young guns to defeat Americans"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1>RIATH AL-SAMARRAI: Luke Donald backs his young guns to shoot down mighty Americans in Rome, as Team Europe bid to reclaim Ryder Cup off Zach Johnson&#8217;s &#8216;strong&#8217; US Team<\/h1>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>The 2023 Ryder Cup takes place this week at the Marco Simone Golf Club\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Luke Donald is backing his team to win but is not underestimating the USA\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Zach Johnson has equally lauded the strength of the European side\u00a0 \u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>After he took his seat next to a trophy with which he is well acquainted, Luke Donald was asked a number of questions on Monday. The most amusing was whether Rome might soon witness the fall of another empire.<\/p>\n<p>He dead-batted it, of course, and so did the American chap in his company, Zach Johnson, who is perhaps even less given to a flashy comment than Donald. But there was truth concealed in the humour of that enquiry \u2014 this is an era of transition and uncertainty for the golfers of Europe.<\/p>\n<p>As we embark on one of the great weeks of sport, it is impossible in this of all cities to separate past from present.<\/p>\n<p>So many of those names who have been central to European domination of the Ryder Cup in the past 25 years or more \u2014 Lee Westwood, Sergio Garcia, Ian Poulter, Henrik Stenson and Paul Casey are links in a chain that stretches to 1997 \u2014 have given way to age and the toxicity of golf\u2019s politics.<\/p>\n<p>In their place here at Marco Simone stands a younger generation \u2014 with an average age of 30, Donald\u2019s side is the most youthful deployed by a captain of Europe since 1987.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/09\/25\/20\/75824085-0-image-a-59_1695670688409.jpg\" height=\"426\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Luke Donald (left) will be hoping to regain the Ryder Cup this week from US Team captain Zach Johnson (right) in Rome<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/09\/25\/20\/75824077-0-image-a-60_1695670729991.jpg\" height=\"423\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>The pair appeared at a captain&#8217;s press conference ahead of the biennial competition<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/09\/25\/20\/75822601-0-image-a-61_1695670738666.jpg\" height=\"404\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>The stage is set at the gruelling Marco Simone Golf and Country Club in Rome<\/p>\n<p>The mystery is whether the new faces, bolts of extreme promise like Ludvig Aberg, can fuse with the older guard of Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm and Viktor Hovland to regain the trophy they lost so conclusively at Whistling Straits two years ago.<\/p>\n<p>On paper, the US are stronger, not at the head but very much so at the tail, though as Tyrrell Hatton told Mail Sport recently: \u2018Golf isn\u2019t played on paper.\u2019\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>True, but with three of this year\u2019s major winners in Johnson\u2019s team, the grass might not offer a kinder sanctuary. And with that comes the broader question of crumbling empires, because Europe has not lost at home since 1993.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018I certainly have a lot of belief in my team,\u2019 said Donald, a four-time Cup winner. \u2018I know it\u2019s going to be a difficult next few days. The US are very strong and we are coming off our worst defeat ever in a Ryder Cup. They have some great partnerships and have had a lot of success.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018We have our work cut out but you have to have belief.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>It has always been the most compelling of match-ups, even if not the closest \u2014 seven of the past 10 editions have been won by five points or more.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/09\/25\/20\/75822611-0-image-m-68_1695670772001.jpg\" height=\"281\" width=\"306\"><br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/09\/25\/20\/75822613-0-image-a-69_1695670779216.jpg\" height=\"281\" width=\"306\"><\/p>\n<p>European stars McIlroy (left) and Lowry (right) arrived at the team&#8217;s hotel on Monday after both were spotted watching Ireland beat South Africa at the Stade de France on Saturday<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/09\/25\/20\/75822617-0-image-a-73_1695670819123.jpg\" height=\"408\" width=\"306\"><br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/09\/25\/20\/75822567-0-image-m-72_1695670805159.jpg\" height=\"408\" width=\"306\"><\/p>\n<p>Rahm (left) and MacIntyre (right) also arrived at Team Europe&#8217;s hotel on Monday ready for the tournament<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/09\/25\/20\/75824137-0-image-a-74_1695671041803.jpg\" height=\"423\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Viktor Hovland was seen on Monday practising from the bunkers at Marco Simone Golf and Country Club<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/09\/25\/22\/75827061-12559477-image-a-83_1695676767014.jpg\" height=\"423\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Ludvig Aberg will make his Ryder Cup debut at the age of 23 after a breakout season<\/p>\n<p>Indeed, it rarely touches the numerical parity of its female sibling, the Solheim Cup, but the richness of its history makes it one of sport\u2019s most precious jewels. From The Concession of 69 to the War on the Shore of 91, to Medinah and its miracle and the mutiny of Phil Mickelson in 2014, its capacity for drama is proven and marvellous.<\/p>\n<p>If we are to apply a European slant, much of that has been derived from the US appetite for implosion in the peculiar business of making teams from those conditioned to live as lone wolves. See the poor Cup record of Tiger Woods as the prime example of why this branch of science is inexact.<\/p>\n<p>To end the 30-year curse, Johnson will need to find something that was beyond the likes of Jim Furyk (2018), Tom Watson (2014), Corey Pavin (2010), Tom Lehman (2006), Curtis Strange (2002) and Tom Kite (1997).<\/p>\n<p>He has been accused of building a \u2018boys club\u2019 by favouring friendships over form \u2014 Justin Thomas has picked up of late but his 2023 results have stunk \u2014 but that might well be how the code is cracked. He certainly seems confident.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018It\u2019s hard to win outside of your comfort zone,\u2019 Johnson said. \u2018It\u2019s hard to win against a team that\u2019s always been very formidable.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;The European teams have been very stout, very good, very deep, and this year is no different.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/09\/25\/20\/75824127-0-image-a-75_1695671195077.jpg\" height=\"423\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Justin Thomas was named as a captain&#8217;s pick by Johnson after a difficult year on the PGA Tour<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/09\/25\/20\/75824161-0-image-a-76_1695671198050.jpg\" height=\"423\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Brooks Koepka flew to the tournament separately from his team after he competed at the LIV Golf Invitational in Chicago last weekend<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/09\/25\/20\/75824123-0-image-a-77_1695671200993.jpg\" height=\"423\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Collin Morikawa, a captain&#8217;s pick for the event, was seen practising on the range on Monday<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/09\/25\/20\/75824113-0-image-a-78_1695671403160.jpg\" height=\"423\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Max Homa (left) and Sam Burns (right), another rookie for the Ryder Cup, were also pictured deep in conversation as they practiced on the range<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;It\u2019s just difficult. I know what history says. But at the same time I can speak confidently \u2014 these guys are ready. The teams of the past are teams of the past. This is a new team with a new opportunity.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>It was interesting to note on that front that Brooks Koepka, the single LIV golfer among the 24 here, flew to Italy separate from the rest of the US side on Sunday. Logistics, apparently, because he played in Chicago last week.<\/p>\n<p>But contrast that to a story told to Mail Sport recently about McIlroy ditching his private jet following a recent European reconnaissance trip to Marco Simone, choosing instead to return to Wentworth on a charter with his team-mates.<\/p>\n<p>They are tiny, possibly trivial, details but the beauty of the Cup is that these items tend to add up. For Europe\u2019s sake they might need to. If they don\u2019t Rome might be blessed with yet another ruin.<\/p>\n<p>Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/sport\/golf\/article-12559477\/RIATH-AL-SAMARRAI-Luke-Donald-backs-young-guns-shoot-mighty-Americans-Rome-Team-Europe-bid-reclaim-Ryder-Cup-Zach-Johnsons-strong-Team.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>RIATH AL-SAMARRAI: Luke Donald backs his young guns to shoot down mighty Americans in Rome, as Team Europe bid to [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":292478,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>RIATH AL-SAMARRAI: Luke Donald backs young guns to defeat Americans - All My Sports News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/allmysportsnews.com\/golf\/riath-al-samarrai-luke-donald-backs-young-guns-to-defeat-americans\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"RIATH AL-SAMARRAI: Luke Donald backs young guns to defeat Americans - 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