Colin Montgomerie has publicly backed Luke Donald to take charge of Europe for a third Ryder Cup as the continent targets a potential historic three-peat at Adare Manor in 2027.
Donald led Team Europe to a 15-13 victory over the USA in September, adding to the Rome 2023 success and the win at Bethpage Black in 2025. That run has already placed him alongside Tony Jacklin as one of only two European captains to claim back-to-back Ryder Cups. If Donald returns in 2027, he could become the first European to captain three times since Bernard Gallacher and the first to guide Europe to three straight victories.
‘Three out of three would be extraordinary,’ Montgomerie told Sky Sports. He praised Donald for accepting the New York assignment and said the team spirit forged in Rome justified giving him another term. ‘If he was brave enough to do New York, then I’m convinced that he’s brave enough to do a third term and win again at home,’ Montgomerie added, noting Europe’s strong record on home soil — their last home loss dated back to 1993.
Montgomerie said he would cast his vote for Donald and called a third stint ‘history in the making.’ Donald has not dismissed the possibility of returning for the Ryder Cup centenary in 2027, but Montgomerie warned Europe could lack clear alternatives if Donald declines. He suggested Justin Rose might be an obvious choice but doubted Rose would step aside, as Rose intends to keep playing and will likely be part of Europe’s automatic qualifiers.
Reflecting on long-term succession, Montgomerie said the emergence of LIV Golf eroded Europe’s captaincy pipeline: ‘We lost a lot of our potential captains when they went to LIV — [Ian] Poulter, [Lee] Westwood, [Henrik] Stenson, [Graeme] McDowell. These guys were potential Ryder Cup captains of the future but decided to go another route.’
On the hostile crowd behaviour some Europeans faced at Bethpage Black, Montgomerie — who remembers similar scenes at Brookline in 1999 — said the environment made the victory sweeter. He welcomed the PGA of America’s apology to Rory McIlroy after McIlroy and his wife were subjected to abuse, and added that overcoming the intense atmosphere meant Europe ‘did not just win at the golf.’
Montgomerie made the remarks ahead of representing Team Europe at the Skechers World Champions Cup supporting Shriners Children’s from December 4-7, a global team event that will also feature Team USA and Team International.