Rory McIlroy thinks 4 reasons why Ryder Cup plays captain is unwise
Rory McIlroy said he wouldn’t be the Ryder Cup captain.
More than once.
“No. It’s already mentioned, I just said, ‘There’s no way’,” he said at the Genesis Scottish Open last July. “It depends – what do you want? If you want to be the best captain, you can’t play. If you want to be the best player, you can’t be the captain. It’s one or the other. Especially how big the Ryder Cup has become and what you have to do in the event.”
Then why do you think of it? Just a few days ago, Keegan Bradley was named Captain America for playing this year’s Biennale – at least, if he does a great job in the next 13 months, he must consider his team. He has. This led to a follow-up exchange between McIlroy and reporters at this year’s Scottish Open.
This day last year, we were discussing Keegan and Ryder Cup Captain, you [said] In this era, it is impossible to be a captain. It’s been a year now and it looks like it’s likely to happen.
“Hope this is impossible,” McIlroy said before laughing.
He repeated himself without a surprise before this week’s BMW Championship. He said again that he was asked to be a captain and he refused the game. He said again that you can’t do it at the same time.
However, in answering a follow-up question, he defined why Wednesday was four reasons.
1. media
“I just think the captain has a week’s commitment – you’ll think about the extra media that the captain has to do,” McIlroy said.
How many exactly? Follow Bradley’s PGA tour this season. He participated in 20 events and was interviewed by 20 print and online journalists. Then there is the TV request. and radio requests. and podcast requests. and Ryder Cup requirements. Additionally, additional press conferences the captain must do period Ryder Cup Week.
2. Meeting
“You’ll consider additional meetings that the Captain and the Vice Captain have to do with the PGA in the United States,” McIlroy said.
How many are here? Listen to Bradley’s quotes at the PGA Championship.
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“I think the hardest thing for me isn’t always thinking about it when I practice or when I get home with my family. It’s always in my mind. We’re going to do this, and it’s the best way to have a proper meeting last week, and I think the biggest hurdle is my biggest hurdle. That.
“Sometimes for our golfers, entering the rope is actually a peaceful place. I sometimes have one, but sure sometimes I’ve been practicing and the thoughts come to my mind and then I have to write it down and then I think about that.
3. speech
“In Keegan’s case, the speech that was preparing for the opening ceremony – it’s just that people don’t see a lot of things the captain does during the week of the Ryder Cup, especially now that the Ryder Cup has become so big.”
Really? Consider the speech of European captain Luke Donald at an event in Italy in 2023 – his applause drew applause after he opened up in Italian. (You can check it out below.)
4. The drama itself
“Then the captain won’t go to work all day, so the captain can only attend one meeting on Friday, one meeting on Saturday. Do you rather not have a player who has the flexibility to attend two times, and if he plays well, there are many different things?
For reference, three players in 2023 competed for up to five Ryder Cup matches – McIlroy and Viktor Hovland competed for Europeans
However, McIlroy also said Bradley is one of the 12 best Americans, so at least, the discussion may continue until Bradley’s team is fully revealed on August 27, three days after the Tour Championship. Bradley repeated Wednesday that no one would have thought of joining the team unless they were in six automatic qualifying matches.
He also said that this was a response to McIlroy’s idea of playing the captain:
“He’s probably right. We don’t know. No one knows. Yes, like everyone is telling me that from a year, players can’t be captains and have a good time. For me, I think this is one of the best years I’ve ever had.
“One of the weirdest things is that what I did throughout my career really tends to be someone else seeking advice, calling someone else and asking them, how do you prepare for the profession? How do you deal with the time of the last tee? How do you deal with the media? How do you deal with the company obligations? In this case, no one is going to call, so no one knows this can work.
“I certainly had a lot of concerns, and everyone else, but I have the most incredible vice captains, including Jim Furyk, who has been on these teams and was once the captain. Frankly, even if I didn’t play, I leaned towards them more than any other captain.
“If that happens, we’re ready. I’m not sure if it will. I can really sit here now and say I don’t know what will happen. I have to look at myself like any other player trying to form a team. I’m at 10th now, and it’s not 6th.”
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Nick Pistowski
Golf.comEdit
Nick Piastowski is the senior editor of Golf.com and Golf Magazine. In his role, he is responsible for editing, writing and developing stories throughout the golf field. And, when he didn’t write about how to hit golf more directly and directly, the Milwaukee man might be playing games, hitting the ball left, right and short, and then having a cold beer to wash off his score. You can contact him at nick.piastowski@golf.com.
