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.”
Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images
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.”
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.
More Golf: Justin Rose Joins Exclusive Eight-Man PGA Tour Money Club