Access Tickets
Team Europe may be facing a challenge like none they have come up against before this week at Bethpage Black but Tommy Fleetwood and Justin Rose believe that continuity could be key to a successful Ryder Cup defence.
The duo were both members of the team that triumphed in Rome two years ago and are two of 11 players, a Captain and four Vice Captains retained for the defence in New York.
They, and skipper Luke Donald, however, are aware that an away match is a very different beast, with a fervent home crowd and control of the course set-up just two of the things going in the U.S. Team’s favour.
With that in mind, Donald has been keen to emphasize that, despite the similar personnel, his plan will not be a “rinse and repeat” of two years ago.
At Marco Simone, Fleetwood was paired with McIlroy and the ‘Fleetwood Mac’ pairing won two points from two, something the Englishman would be happy to see duplicated come Friday.
“Whoever gets to play with Rory this week, what a privilege,” he said. “What an amazing thing to be able to do, to stand next to him on the golf course and play alongside him. He's one of if not the greatest player of our generation.
“The energy that I think he has, that he brings to your team, that he brings to the Ryder Cup, I think is amazing. I think it's great.
“If I'm one of them that gets a chance to play with him, I would love that opportunity. And whatever energy he decides to bring, I'll be there to support him and be a good partner for him.”
He added: “Good partnerships, I think the last few years, statistics have played a big role in that. I think the game has gone more in that direction and I think there's definitely statistically partnerships that can suit each other very, very well.
“In foursomes, you need to have some kind of emotional connection. You need to be close and get on. But that has never been anything that we've needed to worry about in Team Europe, that's for sure. I think we've always been very blessed and very lucky with how close our team is and how close our team becomes.”
ROME, ITALY - SEPTEMBER 30: Tommy Fleetwood of Team Europe and teammate Rory McIlroy embrace on the 17th green upon winning their match 2&1 on the 17th green during the Saturday morning foursomes matches of the 2023 Ryder Cup at Marco Simone Golf Club on September 30, 2023 in Rome, Italy. (Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images)While this year’s European Team may have just one rookie in Rasmus Højgaard, the team in which Fleetwood made his debut had five.
It also contained stalwarts like Rose, Ian Poulter, Sergio Garcia and Henrik Stenson but with three of 2018 rookies Fleetwood, jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton part of five players remaining for this year’s contest, it could certainly be seen as a changing of the guard.
“I remember making my first team in Paris,” said Fleetwood. “I think when you look back, there was a few of us, I think me, Jon, Tyrrell, (Vice Captain) Alex Noren, the guys that are here this week, that was our debut in the Ryder Cup.
“And we definitely came into a team that was full of, I would say, this era's Team Europe's Ryder Cup legends. That was very cool when you look back and you look at that one.
“Then you've seen Europe take a transition over the last two or three years into what the team has now become and that always happens. Things transition, and now we've got this group of players.”
While Fleetwood is making his fourth Ryder Cup appearance this week, Rose is clocking up his seventh, having made his debut a decade earlier than the man 11 years his junior.
PARIS, FRANCE - SEPTEMBER 30: Tommy Fleetwood of Europe and Justin Rose of Europe celebrate winning The Ryder Cup during singles matches of the 2018 Ryder Cup at Le Golf National on September 30, 2018 in Paris, France. (Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)“Justin has always been someone I've been close to and looked up to in the way he conducts himself, in the way he goes about his game,” he said.
“He's very much a leadership-by-example person. He doesn't need to raise his voice or speak loudly or be the motivating force in terms of that. He's there, he has plenty of words of wisdom and he leads by example in how he prepares himself and conducts himself on the golf course.
“I feel lucky that I've been able to spend so much time with him and learn so much from being around him in terms of how he does things. He isn't going anywhere anytime soon, I don't think.”
As for Rose himself, he would largely agree with his team-mate's description as he tees it up as the oldest player on either team by seven years - not that he is ready to be more of a mentor than a player in the team room just yet.
“Elder statesman, as I've been called but I don't try to see myself that way, really,” he said. “I'm still enthusiastic about my game and I still want to be a contributing member of the team in the greatest way possible, which is earning points, and not just here for wisdom and things like that.
“But I celebrate the differences in our team and I think that's obviously what Team Europe is all about. Come from different places, different cultures, different backgrounds and I think celebrating that's important.
“So me putting my spin on it, I don't want to cloud anybody's judgment out there. But I also want to be an open enough book that if someone is feeling like they have a question, then yeah, please come and ask me. I'll be happy to share my experience on that.
“But I think that there's not really a need for me to have to put my arm around anybody. And I think the fact that we are 11 out of 12 returning players is an amazing thing, especially coming to an away Ryder Cup, or 11 and a half returning players, really.
“Ultimately to be the best leader is by being the best version of yourself and leading by example. So that's why I felt like at the last Ryder Cup, essentially, I just had to remember all the things that work for me and basically lead by example.”
Leadership is a key theme in the modern Ryder Cup, with Captains being part of not just the team room but almost every detail in the build-up to the event.
Donald was not meant to be Captain in 2023 but the chants of “two more years” after victory in Rome showed exactly what his team thought of the job he had done.
Rose has seen Donald at close quarters more than most of his team-mates, being just two years his junior and having played alongside him at the ‘Miracle of Medinah’, and he believes he has grown into the role as few others could over the last three years.
FARMINGDALE, NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 23: Captain Luke Donald of Team Europe talks with Justin Rose of Team Europe prior to the Ryder Cup 2025 at Black Course at Bethpage State Park Golf Course on September 23, 2025 in Farmingdale, New York. (Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images)“I think Luke has always been more on the introverted side throughout his career and very much focused on his own game and quiet and go about his business,” he said. “And I think Luke has really emerged as a leader over the last couple of years and I think he's really invested in himself as a leader.
“I think he's grown tremendously as a human. I think he's probably learnt so much through this process. I'm blown away by the work ethic that he's given this captaincy cycle, both of them. He came into it in Rome, maybe six months behind where he would have been otherwise, made up for it amazingly.
“I think his communication style has been incredibly consistent and on point and I think it takes all the fuss out of it from a player's point of view.
“It comes down to execution from a player's point of view always. But just good, clear captaincy I think sets the tone and paves the way for the players to go ahead and focus on what's important, which is obviously on the golf course from Friday morning.
“So there's probably a million decisions Luke has had to make to give us no decisions and I think that that's ultimately what the job of being a captain is. I give Luke tons of credit for how much he's invested in himself.”
