Rory McIlroy has dismissed the notion of him potentially serving as a playing captain at the 2027 Ryder Cup in Ireland. McIlroy clarified that while the idea was mentioned, it was quickly set aside.
McIlroy, 35, resumed play Thursday with a 65 at the Genesis Scottish Open, his first round since finishing second to Bryson DeChambeau at the U.S. Open last month. The question of a playing captaincy arose in the context of Keegan Bradley’s appointment as U.S. captain for 2025.
Bradley, who hasn’t served as an assistant and hasn’t played in a Ryder Cup since 2014, has expressed a desire to make his own team.
“I’ve contemplated it for Adare (Manor, the site of the 2027 Ryder Cup) and no, there’s too much work that goes into it,” McIlroy stated after his round at the Renaissance Club in North Berwick, Scotland, without detailing how the subject came up. “I’ve seen what Luke (Donald) went through preparing for Rome—there’s no way you can be as good a captain as you need to be and be a playing captain as well.”
Donald, the winning captain in Rome last year, was reappointed to lead Europe at next year’s Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black. McIlroy mentioned that he learned of Bradley’s appointment from Donald on Sunday night.
“I think disbelief,” McIlroy said about his initial reaction. “I think Keegan was probably in disbelief, at some point, too, but certainly an interesting pick. The youngest captain since Arnold Palmer I think was a playing captain at 34 (in 1963). But he knows Bethpage very well. He went to university in the area (St. John’s). He’s obviously very passionate about the Ryder Cup.”
Bradley, 38, was selected for the role after Tiger Woods declined. Woods indicated that he is still considering future captaincy opportunities, and Ireland could be a possibility.
This would have created a compelling storyline with McIlroy as a playing captain. Woods was a successful player-captain for the U.S. at the 2019 Presidents Cup.
“If you want to be the best captain you can be, you can’t play,” McIlroy said. “And if you want to be the best player you can be, you can’t captain. It’s one or the other. Especially with how big the Ryder Cup has become and how many things you have to do in the lead-up to the event, the week of the event.”
McIlroy noted that Bradley, ranked 19th in the Official World Golf Ranking, has a good chance of making the American team. “And then I think he’d just have to give that captaincy role to one of his vice captains.”
Now 35, McIlroy has participated in seven Ryder Cups for Europe since 2010, with a record of 16-13-4.
