{"id":293031,"date":"2023-09-18T22:36:52","date_gmt":"2023-09-18T22:36:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/?p=293031"},"modified":"2023-09-18T22:36:52","modified_gmt":"2023-09-18T22:36:52","slug":"luke-donald-warns-ryder-cup-stars-they-wont-all-play-full-five-rounds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/golf\/luke-donald-warns-ryder-cup-stars-they-wont-all-play-full-five-rounds\/","title":{"rendered":"Luke Donald warns Ryder Cup stars they WON'T all play full five rounds"},"content":{"rendered":"
Luke Donald has warned his Ryder Cup stars they might have to tolerate being rested for key sessions as he attempts to tackle the brutal physical challenge of the Marco Simone course in Rome at the end of this month.<\/p>\n
The 7,300-yard track, while not excessively long, is loaded with punishing undulations and the match against the US will be contested in heat forecasted to top 30 degrees.<\/p>\n
American vice-captain Stewart Cink, a five-time Cup veteran, recently described the layout as the \u2018most demanding physically of any Cup course I’ve ever seen\u2019 and it was a sentiment shared by European players and caddies after their reconnaissance trip last Monday.<\/p>\n
It has forced Donald to contemplate greater rotation than usual among his 12-strong team, with the reduced chance of golfers competing in all five of the sessions across the three days, not counting practise rounds.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Europe\u2019s captain has also raised the possibility of pooling caddies, and thereby breaking up touring partnerships, meaning some of the bagmen would not need to undertake the five-mile walk twice in a day while lugging huge bags.<\/p>\n
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Luke Donald has warned his Ryder Cup stars they won’t all play the full five rounds in Rome<\/p>\n
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Rory McIlroy (L) and Tyrell Hatton (R) are among the players in good form ahead of the tournament<\/p>\n
Donald said: \u2018It is something we’ve talked about and discussed with a few players who you’d think would play five and we\u2019ve had conversations with them about what they might be expecting for the week.<\/p>\n
\u2018Adrenaline is a big thing in the Ryder Cup so if you asked them to play five they would want to play five. But you’ve got to think about Sunday and the singles because that is 12 points out of the 28. You want some freshness, it is going to be a tiring golf course, could be quite warm.<\/p>\n
\u2018Those are things that we’ve constantly thought about over the past few months and we’ll have to decide and make some of those decisions based on play on Friday and Saturday. It is a possibility that some guys who are used to playing five might not play five.<\/p>\n
‘They understand the rationale behind it.\u2019<\/p>\n
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The Marco Simeone course in Rome\u00a0is loaded with punishing undulations with players also bracing for searing temperatures\u00a0<\/p>\n
Europe has tended to field more players in all five sessions than the Americans in recent history.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Across the past five matches, they have relied on a golfer to contest each of the two fourballs and two foursomes clashes on 14 occasions prior to the Sunday singles, compared to eight on the US side.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Donald has declared himself \u2018very happy\u2019 with his team\u2019s form, after Tyrrell Hatton, Jon Rahm, Viktor Hovland, Tommy Fleetwood, Rory McIlroy, Ludvig Aberg and Sepp Straka signed off before Rome with top-10 finishes at the BMW PGA Championship.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He said: \u2018Watching the leaderboard there were six in the top six at one point and another few nearby. I\u2019m very happy with their form.\u2019<\/p>\n
*Denotes captain’s pick<\/p>\n