Luke Donald battling 'anxiety' as Team Europe captain faces Ryder Cup challenge

Europe's Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald has opened up about the "anxiety" he feels while steering his team toward defending their title at Bethpage Black this September.

With just 158 days left until Team Europe faces off against Keegan Bradley's Team USA in New York, Donald is focused on keeping the trophy they stylishly secured in Rome in 2023. On Wednesday, Donald, one of the rare captains to serve a second Ryder Cup term, announced Jose Maria Olazabal as his vice-captain.

The Ryder Cup is picking up attention as the three-day event edges closer. American Andrew Novak has expressed his desire to make the team after finishing second to Justin Thomas at the RBC Heritage - while European Tommy Fleetwood's wife admitted her paranioa over chatter about their 23-year age gap.

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Donald's previous triumph and the esteem from his players made him a natural pick for a repeat role. However, the European captain confesses that the role's pressures are ever-present. "It's fun when you're lifting that trophy, but there's a lot of pressure," he said. "There's a lot of anxiety. Most nights, you're getting four hours of sleep. It's just a lot. There's so much going on.

"That's why, for me, preparation is key. Making sure, before you even get there that week, that you have pretty much a good idea of what to do and you have a plan A and a plan B, and maybe a plan C if things aren't going the way you want.

"That's where the lead-up for this whole 18 months, two years, to try and get myself in a position where I feel reasonably prepared. You never can be totally prepared, but I feel like I certainly feel more confident and more calm the more prepared I am, and that's why I try and put in the work.

"But it's still a very stressful environment. Being in New York, playing away will be really stressful. But again, it's a very tough challenge to win an away Ryder Cup. We know that. It's never easy. The U.S. will certainly be looking for revenge from Rome, and they will be a tough team to beat."

Donald is gearing up for a crucial week as he prepares his game at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans - a unique doubles event - partnering with Colombia’s Camilo Villegas.

While focused on his own performance, Donald surely has his sights set on scouting for potential candidates for his European Ryder Cup team at TPC Louisiana. The Zurich Classic stands out as the PGA Tour's singular team format event, providing the last chance before September’s team selection for hopefuls to prove themselves in both foursomes and fourballs.

With a field glittered by European talent including definite team inclusions like Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry, who are returning to defend their win from last year, attention is also drawn to stars such as Matt Fitzpatrick, Bob MacIntyre, Aaron Rai, Sepp Straka, and the Hojgaard twins: Rasmus and Nicolai.

"It's great this week to see so many Europeans here," Donald added. "Obviously, a little bit of a dynamic from the [DP World Tour] alliance we have and the 10 [PGA Tour] cards [available to Europe-based players each year]. Seems like more and more Europeans are coming and playing.

"It'll be interesting to see how they do. I'll certainly be keeping an eye. I had a few conversations earlier in the year about potential partnerships amongst some of these Europeans that I thought might work."