Donald Proposes Mixed Ryder Cup-Style Team Event — SkimNews
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- Luke Donald suggested launching a mixed Europe vs America team event, telling the Telegraph ahead of the BMW PGA Championship that 'who wouldn't want to see a Nelly Korda or Charley Hull playing with a Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm or Scottie Scheffler'
- Donald conceded the event would 'take some time to create' and flagged difficulty finding a slot in the golf calendar as a major hurdle
- Paul McGinley told Sky Sports the idea is 'great in principle' but questioned whether players would commit to another team event 'particularly when they're probably not going to get paid for it'
- A mixed team golf event will feature in the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028, while the existing Grant Thornton Invitational already runs every December with PGA Tour and DP World Tour players in the wake of the defunct JCPenney Classic
- McGinley floated a partnership between the PGA Tour and LPGA Tour and suggested mixing the Presidents Cup could balance a contest where Team USA is chasing a record-extending 11th consecutive win at Medinah this week
- Former DP World Tour player Anthony Wall said the golf schedule is 'getting tighter and tighter,' with Olympics golf making it harder for players to commit to additional team events
Why it matters: A mixed event would require the PGA Tour and LPGA Tour to coordinate something unprecedented at the international team level, and McGinley's argument that it could rebalance the Presidents Cup — where the U.S. has won 10 straight — gives organizers a concrete motivation to try. With multiple sources describing the calendar as already saturated and Olympic golf adding further demand in 2028, scheduling is the make-or-break variable Donald himself flagged.
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