Rory McIlroy Reveals He Turned Down Big Ryder Cup Honor: 'I Don't Think You Can Do It'
Keegan Bradley is on the verge of making several important decisions regarding the Ryder Cup, one of them being whether he will adopt the role of player-captain. It's something many players support, but it's out of the question for Rory McIlroy.
During a press conference at Caves Valley Golf Club in Maryland, home of the BMW Championship, the Northern Irishman revealed that he has been approached to act as player-captain in the near future, and that he flatly rejected the offer.
"I've been asked to do that, and I've turned it down," McIlroy told the reporters. "The idea of me being a playing captain sometime soon has come up, and I've shot it down straight away, because I don't think you can do it."
Rory McIlroy of Team Europe looks across the fifth hole during the Saturday morning foursomes matches of the 2023 Ryder Cup at Marco Simone Golf Club on September 30, 2023 in Rome, Italy.
Rory McIlroy of Team Europe looks across the fifth hole during the Saturday morning foursomes matches of the 2023 Ryder Cup at Marco Simone Golf Club on September 30, 2023 in Rome, Italy.Although McIlroy didn't specify which edition he was offered the role of player-captain for, it can't be overlooked that the 2027 Ryder Cup will be played at Adare Manor, Ireland. There's no doubt that McIlroy will be the hero there in whatever role he takes on.
However, expecting him to assume the dual role of player and captain would be a complete waste of time. McIlroy not only completely ruled out that possibility, but also outlined his arguments for doing so.
"I just think the commitments that a captain has the week of -- you think about the extra media that a captain has to do, you think about the extra meetings that the captains have to do with the vice captains, with the PGA of America, in Keegan's case, preparing your speech for the opening ceremony," McIlroy said.
"There's a lot of things that people don't see that the captain does the week of the Ryder Cup, especially now that the Ryder Cup has become so big ... Then the captain isn't going to be on the course all day, so really the captain's only going to be able to play one session on Friday, one session on Saturday. Would you rather not have a player that has the flexibility to go twice if he's playing well? There's a lot of different things that go into it, and that's why I think -- look, it's just my opinion, but I think it would just be very difficult to do."
Can you be a player and captain at the Ryder Cup?
Rory McIlroy says no. pic.twitter.com/6DFThTxw9F — GOLF.com (@GOLF_com) August 13, 2025
These are the difficulties Bradley will face in less than a month if he ultimately assumes the role of player-captain. He is no stranger to such challenges; in fact, he has been talking about the topic since his appointment as captain of the American team.
Initially, Bradley said he would only play if he qualified for the team directly as one of the top six players. However, as the months have passed and he has continued to play at an extraordinary level, the eight-time PGA Tour winner announced on Wednesday that he is now "undecided."
This latter option is well received by his potential teammates. Two players with Ryder Cup experience, Patrick Cantlay and Rickie Fowler, stated on Tuesday that Bradley should be part of the team and that virtually no one on the American side would oppose it.
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Washington Post
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Even as his past four events have yielded a missed cut and no finish higher than a tie for 30th — dropping him to 12th in the rankings — he certainly would be under consideration by any other American captain. 'I definitely think he's one of the best 12 American players right now,' McIlroy said. 'That's why everyone is so interested and it's such a compelling case.' It could have been compelling to watch Bradley the player try to earn his way on. The PGA of America — the organization that stages the Ryder Cup and that is wholly separate and different from the PGA Tour — made it a potential debacle by naming Bradley captain for a Ryder Cup in which he was going to be just 39 years old. The interview process essentially went like this: Seth Waugh, former CEO of the PGA of America: 'Keegan, this is Seth. Would you like to be Ryder Cup captain?' Bradley, dumbfounded: 'Uh, sure?' Maybe wait for him to be a vice captain a time or two before offering him the big chair? Maybe wait for him to be in his mid- to late 40s, when he would have less of a chance to put himself in the position he's in? But here we are. Not that anyone should make choices based on how they could be second-guessed, but think of it this way: Should Europe win, what are the odds that the main American lament is 'What if Keegan had just played himself?' A much more likely frustration would seem to be 'Why in the world did Keegan include himself?' The Ryder Cup is a month and a half away. Keegan Bradley is still wrestling with a decision. He should stop. Play the next two weeks, then put the clubs away. The captain's enormous responsibility is to put his players in the best position to excel. He can't do that if he's at the range working on his own game, too.
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