Rory McIlroy shoots down offer to be player-captain at 2027 Ryder Cup

Times

7 hours ago

As golf waits to see if Keegan Bradley will become the first Ryder Cup player-captain for 62 years, Rory McIlroy has shot down the suggestion that he could take on the dual role for Europe because 'I don't think you can do it'.
Last summer McIlroy said he had 'contemplated' a suggestion that he could be player-captain at Adare Manor in 2027 but, speaking before the second leg of the FedEx Cup play-offs, the Northern Irishman said: 'I have been asked to do that and I've turned it down. The idea of me being a playing captain sometime soon has come up and I've shot it down straight away.
'You think about the extra media the captains have to do, the extra meetings with the vice-captains, with the PGA of America in Keegan's case, preparing your speech for the opening ceremony — there's a lot of things that people don't see which the captain does the week of the Ryder Cup, especially now it has become so big.
'If you'd said it 20 years ago I'd say, yeah, it was probably possible, but [with] how big of a spectacle and everything that's on the line now, I just think it would be a very difficult position to be in.'
Bradley will know his six automatic qualifiers for the US team for next month's Ryder Cup at Bethpage after this week's BMW Championship in Maryland, and speculation is intensifying about whether he will then include himself as one of his six captain's picks.
Bradley says he is leaning heavily on his vice-captains, and Jim Furyk will step up if the captain is playing on the course, but McIlroy suggested Bradley would also have to limit his appearances.
'The captain isn't going to be on the course all day, so really he's only going to be able to play one session on Friday and one on Saturday,' he said. 'Would you rather have the flexibility to go twice if he's playing well? Look, it's just my opinion.'
McIlroy added that Bradley was one of the top dozen players in the United States — he is ranked tenth in the Ryder Cup points list and needs to retain the BMW title at Caves Valley to climb into a top-six berth. 'That's why everyone is so interested and it's such a compelling case.'
Enter Bradley, who has actually had four middling tournaments since the win at the Travelers Championship in June. 'We're ready for this if it happens,' he said of taking on both jobs. 'I'm not sure it's going to. I can truly sit here and say I don't know what's going to happen.'
When McIlroy's doubts were relayed to him, Bradley added: 'He may be right. We don't know. No one knows. Everybody was telling me at the start of the year why a guy can't be captain and have a good year [but] for me, I feel like this is one of the best years I've ever had.'
Justin Rose, the winner on Sunday in Memphis and potentially Luke Donald's successor as Europe's captain, also added his thoughts. The 45-year-old, who has now guaranteed his place in Europe's automatic spots, said Bradley's form had created the dilemma.
Rose said: 'If he feels he's an absolute strategic brilliant mind then maybe he's focused one way. Or he thinks, 'Damn, I'm playing well and I need to win points, I'm going to do it that way.' He's obviously a charismatic and fiery competitor, and I think [he] will become a great captain. He's almost played too well for his own liking in a sense.'
Scottie Scheffler, the world No1, then added the American take and did not mince words. 'We have a really good group of guys and Keegan can only help that. If it's something Keegan wants [to play] I think he's a guy we'd all love to have on the team.'
More Ryder Cup questions then strained his patience. 'The Ryder Cup is over a month away,' he said. 'If you want to talk about this week let's talk about this week. If not, I've got practice to do.'