Ryder Cup contenders given strong message by captain at special East Lothian summit
Dane Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen reveals what European captain told players at get-together
Luke Donald, the European captain, has warned his players that it is going to be “absolutely ruthless” at this year’s Ryder Cup on Long Island in New York.
Earlier this week, Donald hosted a gathering at Gilmerton House, close to the venue for the Genesis Scottish Open, that was attended by 20 players.
The Englishman did something similar at the same venue in the build up to the 2023 match in Rome and he took the chance once again to build camaraderie.
Among those in attendance was Dane Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen, who is in the frame for a rookie appearance at Bethpage Black in September.
“His message was that the environment we’re going to go into in New York is going to be nothing like a European side’s ever seen before,” said Neergaard-Petersen, speaking at an Under Armour event staged the following evening at the same venue.
“It’s going to be absolutely ruthless and the better we can be at not reacting to whatever might be there emotionally and just kind of keeping our head down and minding our business and you are sticking together as a group better, the stronger we can be as a team.
"One thing is that we have world-class players, but the better we can be as a team, the better chance we have to go get the trophy home with us.”
Neergaard-Petersen and Englishman Harry Hall were paired with Donald for the opening two rounds at The Renaissance Club, signalling the fact they are genuine contenders for Europe’s trophy defence.
“I’m obviously going to do as much as I possibly can to make the team this year,” added Neergaard-Petersen, who topped the Challenge Tour’s Road to Mallorca Rankings last year and, more recently, tied for 12th in the US Open. “But, even if it’s not this year, then certainly down the road and have full belief that I’m going to make it happen.
“It’d be a dream come true. I’ve watched every Ryder Cup growing up that I can remember and one of the reasons that I started playing golf is I wanted to play the biggest events, I wanted to play Ryder Cups, so that’s what drives me.”
Rory McIlroy has already qualified automatically for Donald’s team, with Tommy Fleetwood, Tyrrell Hatton, Bob MacIntyre, Shane Lowry and Sepp Straka the other players in the automatic spots.
The qualifying race ends after the DP World Tour’s Betfred British Masters and the Tour Championship on the PGA Tour on 24 August, with Donald set to announce his team on 1 September.
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