Europe Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald says Sergio Garcia 'understands' why he's not on the team
ROME (AP) - It´s been more than a ４半期/4分の1 century since Sergio Garcia wasn´t part of Europe´s Ryder Cup team.
The energetic Spaniard, who joined the Saudi-支援するd LIV ゴルフ 小旅行する, knew what was coming, though, when captain Luke Donald called recently to let him know that he wouldn´t be taking part in this year´s event.
Not as one of Europe´s 12 players. Nor as one of Donald´s five 副／悪徳行為 captains.
"We´ve chatted a little bit and he certainly wishes the team all the best. It´s different for me (too)," Donald said Monday after his entire team practiced at the Marco Simone club outside Rome that will host the Ryder Cup from Sept. 29-Oct 1.
"It will be the first Ryder Cup I´ve been 伴う／関わるd without Sergio. But he understands the 役割 and he was more than supportive when I talked to him just a few weeks ago."
Garcia played in 10 Ryder Cups from 1999 to 2021 and 持つ／拘留するs the Ryder Cup 記録，記録的な／記録する for most points at 28.5, going 3-1 in his last 外見 at Whistl ing 海峡s two years ago. Garcia didn´t play in the 2010 Ryder Cup when he took a break に引き続いて a 低迷. But he was 指名するd as a 副／悪徳行為 captain for the 2010 event.
Viktor Hovland of the Ryder Cup team Europe, 中心, returns with his チーム仲間s to a hotel in Rome, Monday, Sept. 11, 2023, at the end of a practice 開会／開廷／会期 at the Marco Simone ゴルフ club where the 2023 Ryder Cup will be played starting next Sept. 29. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
With Europe having been 大勝するd by the 部隊d 明言する／公表するs in 2021, Donald 選ぶd three rookies for his team in Ludvig Aberg, Sepp Straka and Nicolai Hojgaard.
The 23-year-old Aberg has be en a プロの／賛成の for just three months but the former No. 1 amateur won the European Masters a day before Donald 発表するd his team.
"We´ve known about Ludvig for a long time," Donald said. "He 明白に （機の）カム out to the professional 回路・連盟 and 選ぶd it up pretty quickly, some very strong finishes. ... He´s a tremendous driver of the ゴルフ ball, which is really a strength around Marco Simone and he´s already fitting in very 井戸／弁護士席 with the team."
Another hot player is Viktor Hovland, who won the BMW 選手権 and FedEx Cup 肩書を与える last month.
"極端に big 勝利，勝つs," Donald said. "We have four of the last six FedEx Cup 勝利者s on our team. So these are 肯定的なs that I´ll be talking to the guys about and keep pumping them up. But we won´t take the U.S. lightly. They´re a very strong team and we´re still 傷つけるing from two years ago."
Between No. 2 Rory McIlroy, No. 3 Jon Rahm and No. 4 Hovland, Europe has three of the 最高の，を越す four players in the world 最高位のs.
"We have 12 very hot players, to be honest," Donald said. "I´m very happy with my 12."
Three players - Rahm, Hovland and Straka - arrived 早期に on Sunday before the two-day training （軍の）野営地，陣営 to visit the Colosseum.
"They said," Donald recounted, "it was amazing."
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AP ゴルフ: https://apnews.com/中心/ゴルフ
Ryder Cup team Europe captain Luke Donald, 会談 to reporters as he returns with his team to a hotel in Rome, Monday, Sept. 11, 2023, at the end of a practice 開会／開廷／会期 at the Marco Simone ゴルフ club where the 2023 Ryder Cup will be played starting next Sept. 29. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Ryder Cup team Europe captain Luke Donald, 会談 to reporters as he returns with his team to a hotel in Rome, Monday, Sept. 11, 2023, at the end of a practice 開会／開廷／会期 at the Marco Simone ゴルフ club where the 2023 Ryder Cup will be played starting next Sept. 29. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Ryder Cup team Europe captain Luke Donald, 会談 to reporters as he returns with his team to a hotel in Rome, Monday, Sept. 11, 2023, at the end of a practice 開会／開廷／会期 at the Marco Simone ゴルフ club where the 2023 Ryder Cup will be played starting next Sept. 29. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Ryder Cup team Europe captain Luke Donald returns with his team to a hotel in Rome, Monday, Sept. 11, 2023, at the end of a practice 開会／開廷／会期 at the Marco Simone ゴルフ club where the 2023 Ryder Cup will be played starting next Sept. 29. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Ryder Cup team Europe 副／悪徳行為 captain Francesco Molinari, 中心, returns with his team to a hotel in Rome, Monday, Sept. 11, 2023, at the end of a practice 開会／開廷／会期 at the Marco Simone ゴルフ club where the 2023 Ryder Cup will be played starting next Sept. 29. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Ryder Cup team Europe captain Luke Donald 会談 to reporters as he returns with his team to a hotel in Rome, Monday, Sept. 11, 2023, at the end of a practice 開会／開廷／会期 at the Marco Simone ゴルフ club where the 2023 Ryder Cup will be played starting next Sept. 29. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Ryder Cup team Europe captain Luke Donald 会談 to reporters as he returns with his team to a hotel in Rome, Monday, Sept. 11, 2023, at the end of a practice 開会／開廷／会期 at the Marco Simone ゴルフ club where the 2023 Ryder Cup will be played starting next Sept. 29. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
