Rory McIlroy has been a European team staple for the Ryder Cup since his debut in 2010.
Although he has not held the European captaincy role, the five-time major winner is one of the team’s leading figures.
After his second round at the Genesis Scottish Open, McIlroy put some voodoo magic out in the universe with his comments on the potential of Keegan Bradley being a playing captain for Team USA.
“Hopefully, it’s impossible,” he said.
“Keegan has played great. He’s had a great year. He had the win at the Travelers. I’m not in those conversations, and from an outside perspective, it’s going to be interesting to see what the US Team does with that.”
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Reporters reminded him of his comments on the same topic from last year’s tournament.
The career grand slam winner was blunt about the possibility of it, per the UK golf website, Bunkered.
“I’ve contemplated it for Adare [Manor, 2027] and there’s too much work that goes into it,” McIlroy said in 2024 at the Scottish Open.
“I’ve seen what Luke went through preparing for Rome. There’s no way you can be as good a captain as you need to be and be playing as well. It’s been mentioned, and I’ve just said, ‘No way.'”
When he made those comments last year, it felt there was no way Bradley would be able to do the impossible, but now it does not seem so far-fetched.
Bradley recently won the Travelers Championship for the second time in three years. He currently ranks seventh in the OWGR, and the possibility of becoming the first playing captain since Arnold Palmer in 1963 is very real.
“I think the U.S. Team is better with Keegan playing than not playing,” McIlroy noted. “I think he’s one of the best 12 American players right now. It’s going to be an interesting couple of months to see how that all shakes out.”
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Do Team USA and Team Europe treat the captaincy differently?
McIlroy also gave his opinion about how differently the two teams view their captains.
Team Europe appears to be very structured, whereas the Americans employ a different tactic. The 36-year-old did his best to explain how it seems to him.
“It feels like it’s a player-led team in America, and obviously we have our input as players on the European team, but we do have that one figurehead in Luke [Donald],” he stated.
He brought up the 2023 Ryder Cup in Rome as an example.
“I think that’s important. Even going back to Rome, when the Americans got off to a pretty rough start — I guess because Zach [Johnson] gave the team so much ownership, they had no one to look to.
“They were looking at each other instead of having a focal point. That is something that Europe has done very, very well. But also, the players have allowed the captain to be a captain as well.”
Team USA struggles abroad as the Americans have not won in Europe since 1993. However, they do have success on home soil. The last time the biennial event was held in the States, Team USA won in historic fashion at Whistling Straits in 2021.
Will that be the case in 2025, though? The Americans need someone like Bradley playing in the event, but at what cost?
Bradley has chosen some fantastic vice captains, including the most recent one, Gary Woodland, as people praised him for those selections. However, will the surrounding leadership be able to take on enough of the load to allow him to compete alongside the 11 other team members?
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