We have officially entered the year of the Ryder Cup at Bethpage, and the Team Europe Captain is working flat out to prepare for it as best as possible.
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The Team Cup matches, won by Team GB & I, have given Donald's staff valuable insights, and Tyrrell Hatton's victory in the Hero Dubai Desert Classic has confirmed once again that the British player is one of the pillars of Team Europe, and that the possibility of his absence in New York is an eventuality that must be absolutely excluded (the DP World Tour MUST take a clear position, Editor's note).
However, while waiting for the solution to the problem, Luke Donald is working meticulously, devising innovative training strategies.
Luke Donald, Ryder Cup
Jordan Smith, one of the members of Team GB & I, revealed in an interview with Bunkered that during the Team Cup, disturbance techniques were used to simulate the environmental situation that Team Europe will have to face at Bethpage.
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They changed some situations by introducing distraction tactics in view of the transfer to New York
On the tee of the first they placed microphones and speakers, which spread noises of children, sounds of alarm clocks, people screaming and coughing.
But the real stroke of genius of Donald and his staff was to hire an American actor who, on the tee of the 7th, impersonated a fan of Team USA, recreating the hostile climate that awaits the European players in New York, when they will have to face the wave of American fans, notoriously less fair than us fans of Team Europe.
The American supporter tried to distract all the players, but had a special thought for someone who does not need provocations to warm up, namely Tyrrell Hatton, calling him the reincarnation of an Amish farmer, because of his beard.
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This approach was confirmed by Donald himself last Monday, when he attended the third day of the TGL of Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy.
According to the Captain, the environment and the climate that surrounds the matches of the hyper-technological league represent a good training for the European players who take part.
They have to learn to manage the distractions, the countdown, the heartbeat
On the first tee of Bethpage they will really feel the heartbeat, so, every time they can experience that sensation, even if it is on a small scale, they can benefit from it.
