Captains’ Dinner warms up Ryder Cup

The Captains’ Dinner, Presented by DP World, is being shown by Sky Sports during the build-up and play of the Ryder Cup this weekend.

Hosted by Sky Sports Golf lead presenter Nick Dougherty, the show sees three former Team Europe captains, Colin Montgomerie, Paul McGinley and Thomas Bjørn, sitting down to discuss stories about the competition. Topics range from making that dreaded ‘you haven’t made the team’ phone call, creating a winning mentality, adapting when things go wrong, creating a winning environment in the team room and selecting smart partnerships.

To finish the show, the captains select their all-time best European Ryder Cup team. 

It was commissioned by European Tour sponsor DP World and produced by Avidity Studios, with each segment of the show is linked to one of DP World’s “5 Smart P’s” - Preparation, Perspective, Possibilities, Performance, and Partnerships. The programme has already aired this week, and will also broadcast on Sky Sports Golf at 8.30pm on 29 and 30 September.

Avidity Studios founder Gary Smith said: “It was a privilege to experience the captains sharing their insights and stories of being a Ryder Cup captain in such an intimate, raw and emotive way through the natural conversation that developed. We shot 3 hours of footage which was all just fascinating content and we are thrilled the show will be a part of another exciting Ryder Cup week. DP World have been a great partner to work with throughout the project and we hope the audience love the show as much as we do.”

Jason Wessely, head of golf at Sky Sports, added: “We’re really proud of this show; Thomas, Colin, Paul were all amazing. It’s great to hear how special the role was to them and to hear all of their stories. It’s a concept that we’ll look to replicate across other sports, bringing the audience remarkable insights from some of the finest athletes Europe has ever produced.”