Alex Noren named as Luke Donald’s 5th vice captain for Europe at the Ryder Cup

LONDON (AP) — Alex Noren was named as Luke Donald’s fifth and final vice captain for Europe’s team at the upcoming Ryder Cup on Tuesday.

Noren secured two points from three matches during Europe’s victory in 2018 at Le Golf National outside Paris. That performance included a 40-foot putt on the 18th hole to defeat Bryson DeChambeau in the final Sunday singles match.

This year’s Ryder Cup will be contested at Bethpage Black in New York from Sept. 26-28.

The other four vice captains were already named and were also in place when Europe won at Marco Simone outside Rome in 2023: brothers Francesco and Edoardo Molinari, Thomas Bjørn and José María Olazábal.

Noren is the only new vice captain, while Nicolas Colsaerts was the only vice captain not retained from two years ago.

“It was a big shock when I found out. I didn’t expect it at all,” Noren said. “I want to bring a good attitude to the team room. Bring some knowledge. I’ve been in this game a long time.”

A Swede, Noren will have a connection with the Scandinavian players on the team: Rasmus Højgaard of Denmark, Viktor Hovland of Norway and Ludvig Åberg of Sweden.

“He will do everything that he can to help the team. He’s a humble guy, it’s never about Alex,” Donald said. “He is a good friend of mine. We practice together at the Bears Club (in Jupiter, Florida) where other players who are going to be on that team also practice. So he has a great familiarity with a lot of the guys and I think that’s really useful.”

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