Rory McIlroy has ruled himself out of being the Team Europe captain for the 2027 Ryder Cup at Adare Manor insisting he wants to be there in a playing capacity.
McIlroy admits that he would like to captain Europe at some point in his career but believes that won’t come his way until the mid-2030s when his playing days are coming to an end.
“Sometime, yes,” McIlroy said ahead of the DP World India Championship when asked if he would like to be captain.
“Certainly not 2027. I hope I’m still playing at that point. But yeah, I would love to be the European team captain at some point.
“But that will be beyond my playing days, or at least when my playing days are coming to an end and I’m not good enough to make the team, or I make way for the new generation to come along.
“Hopefully that’s not in 2027. Hopefully, I’m still good enough to play and put points on the board for Europe.”
The European captaincy slot for Adare Manor is very much vacant and it is a wide open poll to see who will succeed Luke Donald or whether the Englishman will stay on for a third term after leading Europe to back to back victories including a first away triumph since 2012 and fifth overall.
Justin Rose seemed the prime candidate to take the reins in Limerick but his performances in the last two Ryder Cups and on the PGA Tour this season showed that he might have one more playing appearance left in him.
The Molinari brothers have been heavily tipped to captain Europe while Graeme McDowell has expressed his burning desire to lead Europe on home soil in two years.
On Donald, McIlroy added: “He has 100 per cent respect of the entire team and everyone that’s worked for him are all behind him.
“If I can be nearly as good as a captain as Luke Donald, I’ll have done a good job.
“So hopefully one day in the future, but I’d say not until the mid-2030s, hopefully, if I can keep playing well.”
