The two most disappointing phone calls between Luke Donald and Pat Goss — a relationship that started in 1997, when Donald golfed for Goss at Northwestern University — involved the Ryder Cup. One followed Donald not making Team Europe’s 2014 roster despite already collecting four victories in the tournament. Then, around a decade later, Donald was devastated after Henrik Stenson earned the captain nod for Rome in 2023, thinking he had a chance.

Captaining a Ryder Cup team had always been a goal for Donald. He’d collected a 7-1 record representing Great Britain and Ireland in the 1999 and 2001 Walker Cups to start constructing his international résumé, and after his first PGA Tour win as a rookie his focus shifted toward cracking the 2004 Ryder Cup roster. Still, even after all of the futu

See Full Page