Rory McIlroy has said he does not think that it is possible to be a playing captain for the Ryder Cup and rejected the idea of being a future one.
It is a dilemma faced by United States captain Keegan Bradley, who is 10th on the qualification list for the 12-man team in a month’s time.
“I’ve been asked to do that and I’ve turned it down,” McIlroy said. “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.
“If you’d have said it 20 years ago I’d say it was probably possible to do, but how big of a spectacle it is and everything that’s on the line in a Ryder Cup now, I just think it would be a very difficult position to be in.
RM Block
“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.
“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?”
Weighing in on Bradley’s decision, the Northern Irishman said: “I definitely think he’s one of the best 12 American players right now. That’s why everyone is so interested and it’s such a compelling case, and it’s going to be – I’m just as interested as everyone else to see how it all plays out.”
McIlroy, who plays in an enticing pairing with world number one Scottie Scheffler at the BMW Championship this week, decided to skip the first FedEx Cup playoff event in Memphis. The decision was easily understood given his busy autumn/winter schedule which includes trips to India, Australia and the Middle East.
“I’m playing nine times between now and the end of the year, so I’ve still got a pretty busy stretch coming up and I just think that extra week off will do me good with the events coming up.”
McIlroy finished fourth at Caves Valley Golf Club the last time the BMW Championship was played there in 2021.
“It’s a big golf course, you got to drive it well and from then there are a lot of mid-to-low irons out there.”
For Shane Lowry, a good week would put a few things beyond doubt. After a disappointing tied 59th finish at the FedEx St Jude Championship in Memphis, Lowry dropped out of the automatic places for the Ryder Cup team, with Justin Rose surging up the rankings. Lowry would still expect a pick from Luke Donald for Bethpage next month, but would rather not rely on the discretion of the captain.
Lowry also dropped six places to 23rd in the FedEx Cup rankings with the top 30 making it to the Tour Championship at East Lake. With quadruple points on offer, a similarly off-colour week in Baltimore would put his top 30 position under threat. The Irishman’s strong season has gone quiet since the Canadian Open in June, with a best finish of tied 40th in his past four events.
BMW Championship lowdown
Purse: $20 million (€17 million); $3.6 million (€3.07 million) to the winner.
Where: Baltimore, Maryland
The course: Caves Valley Golf Club is a 7,601-yard par 70 course designed by Tom Fazio. Opened in 2021, it has undergone significant renovations since with different grass types planted to promote firm and fast conditions. In 2021, Patrick Cantlay and Bryson DeChambeau blitzed the course to shoot 27 under, which included an epic six-hole playoff as Cantlay won the title. To increase the difficulty and avoid such scores again, the course has gone from a par 72 to a par 70, with 60 yards added on top.
The field: The best 50 players on the PGA Tour go against each other, minus Sepp Straka, who pulled out due to a family emergency. Rory McIlroy goes in guaranteed of making next week’s Tour Championship, while Shane Lowry will be left looking over his shoulder to make the top 30 in 23rd.
Quote-Unquote: “I would pick him. I don’t think you’re going to find any or many Americans that are going to argue that he shouldn’t be on the team.” – Rickie Fowler on whether Keegan Bradley should pick himself for the Ryder Cup or not.
Irish in the field: Shane Lowry is playing at 3.27pm with Nick Taylor. Rory McIlroy is playing at 4.16pm with Scottie Scheffler.
Betting: Scottie Scheffler 2-1, Rory McIlroy 6-1, Xander Schauffele, Ludvig Aberg 14-1, Tommy Fleetwood, Patrick Cantlay 16-1.
On TV: Live on Sky Sports+ from 2.15pm, on Sky Sports Golf from 5pm.
