Team Europe chiefs have already decided on captain for 2025 Ryder Cup after stunning win over USA
LUKE DONALD has been told the job of next Ryder Cup captain is his for the taking.
European tournament chiefs have already held talks to plan for the 2025 away match in the USA having been blown away by Donald’s captaincy.
He masterminded a stunning turnaround from a record defeat two years ago to steer his team of 12 to a convincing 16½ – 11½ victory against the odds.
And Ryder Cup bosses are already convinced he is the best man to lead Europe to a second straight win with a daunting trip to the Bethpage State Park in New York.
Popular Donald, 45, partied with his jubilant players until 4am following Sunday afternoon’s win.
The former world No1 will now take time to consider his future.
Donald said: “I’ve certainly not given it any thought at the moment. I want to enjoy it right now. I want to enjoy this week. It’s not an easy job.
“It took a lot of time. It took a lot of effort, a lot of thinking. So I would have to seriously sit down and consider that with my wife and my family.
“I could walk away having done an amazing job this week – the players were really happy and we won – and leave that as my legacy.”
Bernard Gallacher was the most recent man to lead the team on more than one occasion – in the 1990s with three in a row.
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European team bosses at the DP World Tour want their next skipper in place by early next year.
Former world No1 Donald won more than £30million in prize money during his playing career but says winning the Ryder Cup tops it all -even though he won’t be paid a penny for it.
He said: “I’ve said it many times that these moments you get to share with other team-mates are what makes it special.
“It’s quite lonely golf sometimes. You spend a lot of time on your own in hotel rooms.
“To have that team environment, I’m jealous of other sports sometimes as they get to do that a lot.
“This is why we embrace this week as much as possible and really try to create an environment and culture the guys really enjoy and stuff they will always remember.”
European stars partied well into the early hours after their glorious victory.
Donald revealed: “I was walking around with the trophy most of the night.
“I went downstairs to the family party and saw friends and people who’d come here, people from the US, people from the UK, people I’ve known for a long time who’d come to support me.
“We filled up the cup many times with champagne and we were drinking out of it. It was a lot of fun.
“I think it was just after 4am when I got to bed, which wasn’t too bad. I slept, yeah, and then my alarm woke me up about 8.30.”