Luke Donald has been named as the European Captain for the 2025 Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black in New York.

The 45 year old Englishman returns to the role having led Europe to a 16½ – 11½ victory against the United States in the 2023 Ryder Cup at Marco Simone Golf and Country Club in Rome, Italy, earlier this year.

He will become Europe’s first repeat Captain since Bernard Gallacher performed the role in three consecutive Ryder Cups, in 1991, 1993 and 1995.

Donald will be aiming to become only the second Captain to lead Europe to victories both home and away, following Tony Jacklin who achieved the double at Muirfield Village in Ohio in 1987, retaining the Ryder Cup following his team’s victory two years previously at The Belfry, in England, in 1985.

Donald said: “I’m delighted and honoured to have been given the chance to lead Team Europe in the Ryder Cup once again. Great opportunities don’t come along very often in life and I’m a great believer that when they do, you need to grab them with both hands – this is one of these moments.

“I’ve been fortunate as a player to have had many amazing times in the Ryder Cup over the years and so to add being a winning Captain to that, to form bonds with the 12 players like we did in Italy and to get the result we did, was very special indeed.

“The Ryder Cup means so much to me, so to be Captain again and have the chance to create more history by becoming only the second European Captain to win back-to-back is exciting.

“There is no question that being a Captain away from home is a tough task. But I have never shied away from challenges throughout my career and it is precisely the kind of thing that motivates me. I can’t wait to get another 12-strong team to Bethpage in 2025.”

Guy Kinnings, Executive Director – Ryder Cup, said: “Luke was a superb Captain in Rome and we are delighted that he will be returning to the role for the 2025 Ryder Cup in New York.

“He demonstrated clear, calm and meticulous leadership skills in Rome, and all those qualities will be big assets again for Luke and Team Europe as they take on the considerable challenge of trying to retain the Ryder Cup against a strong US Team backed by passionate support in New York.”

Donald featured as a player in the last European Team to win on American soil at Medinah Country Club in 2012 when he led José María Olazábal’s side out in the singles, securing the first blue point on the board in one of the most famous comebacks in the history of the biennial contest.

In total, he represented Europe in the Ryder Cup four times as a player, being part of a winning team on all four occasions, contributing 10½ points from his 15 matches.

He then served as a Vice Captain in 2018, under Thomas Bjørn, and Pádraig Harrington in 2021, before becoming Captain for the first time at the 2023 contest in Rome.

Donald also has an impressive in individual playing career having been World Number One for a total of 56 weeks, while in 2011 he became the first player in history to top the money lists on the European Tour (now the DP World Tour) and the PGA TOUR in the same year.

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CPG ANNUAL AWARDS SUPPORTED BY ROLEX

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Matthew Tipper, renowned coach to Adrian Meronk and acclaimed short game specialist, has become the latest recipient of the CPG’s highest coaching award, the John Jacobs Award for Teaching & Coaching.

The prestigious award, presented at the 2023 CPG Annual Awards Supported By Rolex – for which Tipper was nominated for by the PGA of Poland – is given to coaches that demonstrate exceptional skill, dedication, and impact in the field of golf coaching, with Tipper joining a who’s who list of past winners, including Phil Kenyon, Michael Bannon, Sergio Bertaina, Neil Manchip and Eduardo Celles.

“The shock has only slowly worn off…and it’s just an incredible honour. Any time you’re mentioned in the same breath as Mr. John Jacobs, I think you have to take a step back for a while and think about it,” said PGA of Poland and PGA of Great Britain & Ireland Member on receiving the award at the Gala Dinner that capped-off the CPG Learning & Performance Summit at Fontana Golf in Austria.

“He’s the godfather of golf instruction. He’s the one who started it. He’s the reason why we have a career. I’m just incredibly proud, and I’m very grateful to CPG and the PGA of Poland for giving me this incredible honour.”

Having worked all over the world as a coach, it was 2010 when he moved to Poland to open a David Leadbetter Golf Academy in Toya Golf and Country Club in Wrocław. It was there where he worked with top juniors in the country, including the now multi-event winner and Olympian, Adrian Meronk.

Tipper has supported Meronk for 14 years on the way to four DP World Tour wins, a successful Continental European Team performance in the Hero Cup, and his representation of Poland in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Tipper was able to be part of Meronk’s coaching setup in Tokyo making for a coaching experience reserved only for a select number of coaches in the world, and was even invited to take the Olympic Oath for Team Polska.

“It made absolute sense for us to nominate Matthew for this award,” said recently elected PGA of Poland President, Piotr Owczarek.

“Ever since he arrived in Poland over a decade ago, Matthew has made every effort to support both Polish amateurs and Professionals through his coaching work and has had a significant impact on golf in our country, especially in the form of his support of Adrian who has helped to put Polish golf on the map. We hope to keep working with Matthew to the benefit of our PGA Members, and for the good of golf and its players in Poland.”

Tipper’s Professional and amateur players boast over 50 national and international titles, and, since joining up with world-renowned short game expert, James Sieckmann, in 2016 and serving as his European and Australasian tour representative ever since, he has also been actively involved in the wider development of coaching in almost 10 countries through the delivery of training and workshops.

Find Out More @ https://cp.golf/2023lpsummit

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With thanks to the CPG Annual Awards Partners – Rolex and the Ryder Cup European Development Trust [RCEDT].

The event was organised as part of the Confederation of Professional Golf [CPG] Learning and Performance Summit which took place over several days.

The event began with EOSE Director of Standards, Ben Gittus, introducing the EDUGOLF project and involving the audience with a series of interactive polls linked to the themes of the EDUGOLF project which aimed to modernise education and training in golf. Ben also presented the key results from the Research Report produced as an output of the project.

Next, Wojciech Waśniewski, CPG Executive Director – Knowledge Development, presented the new Occupational Standards for Professionals in Golf. The standards describe the competences, skills and knowledge needed for effective performance in various job roles in golf. Wojciech also presented the EDUGOLF Education and Training Handbook which aims to support the modernisation of golf education in line with the key aim of growing the game.

Participants took part in group work to test their understanding of the outputs and describe how they could be used by different parts of the golf industry, including employers, training providers and individual coaches or manages.

Look out for the publication of all the EDUGOLF outputs in the New Year!

Visit the project web page at edugolf.eu to learn more about the project. You can contact the EDUGOLF project and ask to be kept informed about developments by contacting info@edugolf.eu or subscribe to project updates on the website.

Full list of partners – European Observatoire of Sport and Employment (EOSE); Confederation of Professional Golf (CPG); PGA of Sweden; Polish Golf Union (PGU); French Golf Federation (ffgolf); Real Federacion Espanola de Golf (RFEG); PGA of Belgium; EDGA; University of Applied Sciences for Sport and Management Potsdam (ESAB); National University of Ukraine on Physical Education and Sport (NUPPES).

CPG ANNUAL AWARDS SUPPORTED BY ROLEX

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The CPG’s prestigious Christer Lindberg Bowl has been awarded to Former Ryder Cup Match Director, Edward Kitson, recognising his enormous behind-the-scenes impact upon the development of the Ryder Cup across a career spanning no less than 15 matches.

His Ryder Cup career began just a few weeks before the 1989 Ryder Cup at The Belfry, UK, and developed into the role of Match Director which he fulfilled from the 2010 matches at Celtic Manor through to Whistling Straits in 2021. Most recently he assumed the role of Match Director for the hugely successful 2023 Junior Ryder Cup staged at Golf Nazionale and Marco Simone Golf & Country Club, Italy.

Kitson collected the award that recognises significant and impactful service to golf at 2023 CPG Annual Awards Supported By Rolex that took place at Fontana in Austria, as part of the CPG Learning & Performance Summit:

“It’s a great honour and I am incredibly humbled to win this award following on from so many illustrious past winners. It’s all about the team of colleagues that I’ve been lucky enough to work with on the delivery of the Ryder Cup for many years. I’ve had great times with them, and when it comes to the Ryder Cup itself, then when it finishes on Sunday it’s the relief and the enjoyment we all have right at the end that makes it so special.”

Starting off as a caddie for Professionals Bill Longmuir and Barry Lane, Kitson was able to work as a runner during the Volvo PGA Championship at Wentworth after which he was offered the opportunity to work on the 1989 Ryder Cup. Since then, along with roles inside European Tour Properties and European Golf Design, he has been a part of the Ryder Cup makeup and Championship Management Department across a huge number of events.

1997 marked a large step in his Ryder Cup journey by taking on the role of Staging Director for the Valderrama Ryder Cup and he has since gone on to be a significant influence in the development of the matches in general.

Elements such as the spectator experience, hospitality, transport and logistics, venue management and even the golf course itself have been elevated to a level that sees the Ryder Cup as one of the top sporting events in the world and a significant lasting legacy of his impact on the event.

2018 was a clear highlight of his Ryder Cup career where, as Match Director, he led Ryder Cup Europe to host a game-changing event under his leadership. 2023 saw a change of role, but the same hugely successful delivery of the Junior Ryder Cup where Team Europe won the event for the first time since 2004.

Kitson joins a significant list of recipients – many of whom he worked with both at Ryder Cup Europe, the European Tour and through the various matches he was a part of – such as Neil Coles, Emma Villaceiros, Jaime [Jimmy] Ortiz-Patino, John Jacobs, George O’Grady, John Paramor, as well as other key figures in global golf.

Another winner of the Christer Lindberg Bowl Award and current CPG Board Director, Ken Schofield, presented Kitson with the award before the pair were joined by CPG Chief Executive and current Ryder Cup Europe Board member, Ian Randell, in taking part in a Ryder Cup panel discussion that capped off the Gala Awards evening.

“When I joined the European Tour it was less than 30 people and Ken was a great leader,” added Kitson. “He taught me so much of what I know now and how to deal with people. He’s been a wonderful ambassador to the game of golf and it was an honour to receive this award from him.”

Find Out More @ https://cp.golf/2023lpsummit

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With thanks to the CPG Annual Awards Partners – Rolex and the Ryder Cup European Development Trust [RCEDT].

From 2024 onwards, the JGA will utilise Golf Genius’ Tournament Management to power its entire tournament schedule and provide the associations’ golfers with a digitally enhanced event experience throughout.

“We’re very excited to be participating in the world’s second largest golf market by helping the JGA in its mission to make game an even more popular and accessible sport in Japan”, commented Mike Zisman, co-CEO and founder of Golf Genius. Our Tournament Management solution has been refined and enhanced through close collaboration with many national governing bodies, and we look forward to strongly assisting the JGA in its administration of professional, amateur and junior tournaments throughout the country.”

Added Zisman, “Between JGA and Technocraft – our strategic partner in Japan – we quickly found a shared common ground to deliver a premium, digital event experience for competing golfers, whilst also providing a complete on-the-ground support service to the JGA and their regional associations.”

As utilised by a host of global associations, including the USGA, England Golf, Golf Ireland, Wales Golf and Golf NSW, Golf Genius Tournament Management will power the end-to-end event experience for the JGA through features such as online golfer registration, live scoring, order of merits and rankings.

Golf Genius also works with an increasing number of other Japanese golf facilities, including the PGA of Japan, Tokyo Metro Golf Association, Japanese Virtual Golf Association and Tokyo Classic GC to power more best-in-class golf events of all forms and formats.

Andy Yamanaka, Executive Director & COO, at the Japan Golf Association, added: “In the last five years there has been a monumental shift in the digital trends and behaviours across golf, so choosing the market leading provider of Tournament Management software made complete sense for the JGA, enabling us and golfers across Japan to benefit from innovative, up-to-date technology.”

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To find out more about Golf Genius and how it can benefit your golf facility, you can book a free product demonstration here

The ITC sees teams of three Professionals from across the CPG’s Member Countries battle it out against each other, whilst the International Team Shield tournament recognises those PGAs with 100 Members or less – Adam Puchmelter, Juraj Zvarik and Michal Brezovsky from the PGA of Slovakia are the first PGA to secure this historic double after a score including a 62 and a hole-in-one.

“I think it’s pretty special to be the first one to win both titles,” said Puchmelter after receiving the Sandy Jones Trophy at the CPG Annual Awards Supported By Rolex that capped-off the CPG Learning & Performance Summit week.

“Fontana did a tremendous job to prepare the golf course and make it happen this week. It wasn’t as windy as yesterday so we took that opportunity and executed it well…we did four days of practice in Slovakia before this so it was pretty worthwhile.”

After the first round was abandoned due to high winds, team Slovakia got to work immediately with Puchmelter acting as leading man. Four birdies in his front nine were followed by four birdies and an incredible hole-in-one on Fontana’s 15th hole (for which he received a Bushnell Wingman Bluetooth speaker) for a 62. Meanwhile Slovakia’s second score came after Zvarik battled for a hugely solid level par 72 enabling the team to finish at -10 for the event.

Second place fell to the PGA of Holland Team of Ralph Miller, Mark Reynolds and Ruben Wechgelaer who were able to sneak under par to one-under courtesy of Miller’s 71 for the day.

For Full Final Scores Visit https://cp.golf/2023ITC

For more information on the CPG Learning & Performance Summit visit https://cp.golf/landp

Trackman are a Danish company who, for the past 20 years, have been global leaders in launch monitor technology, and thought leaders in golf club/ball physics and education.

The partnership will facilitate an advanced certification path for PGA Holland members, whilst also giving those members easier access to Trackman technology for coaching and club fitting. The agreement also includes a special deal for PGA Holland members to purchase and finance Trackman technology for their own businesses.

Mike Malone [pictured, right, alongside Frank Kirsten, centre, and Kenzo Vlassaks, left], Vice President of Trackman EMEA commented “We’re delighted to agree this partnership with Frank and PGA of Holland. Trackman have always had strong support in the region, and this agreement will strengthen that relationship whilst enhancing the PGA’s educational offering to members. Both parties work closely with the CPG, so an official partnership was the obvious next step. We’re very excited to be supporting not only the PGA in Holland, but at the same time helping drive golf uptake and participation with our many new indoor simulator and range entertainment facilities opening around the country. At Trackman we are dedicated to driving participation and new people to golf, and we believe that starts with PGA coaches”

Trackman public facilities can be found on our locator at trackman.com/locator.

Frank Kirsten, CEO of PGA Holland, commented “We present this collaboration with great pride. Our PGA members already use Trackman extensively and with this collaboration they can benefit even more from the great products.”

VISIT TRACKMAN.COM