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NEW DELHI — Rory McIlroy has expressed a desire to be the European Ryder Cup captain one day — but not until “the mid-2030s.”
McIlroy is playing his first tournament in India this week as he returns to competitive action after helping Europe retain the Ryder Cup by beating the United States in New York last month.
The 36-year-old Northern Irishman has played in the past eight Ryder Cups and, as the world No. 2 and current Masters champion, figures he will be on the team for a few more — not least in Ireland in 2027.
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But he said Wednesday that sometime in the future he wants to lead the team as the captain rather than as its star player.
“Absolutely, I would love to be a captain one day, and I feel very fortunate that I’ve had a front-row seat playing under some of the best captains in history in the Ryder Cup,” McIlroy said, name-checking Paul McGinley — the winning 2014 skipper — and Luke Donald, who led Europe in the past two matches.
“But,” he added, “I’d say not until the mid-2030s, hopefully, if I can keep playing well.”
McIlroy was on the end of a barrage of abuse from American spectators at Bethpage Black and occasionally gave it back to them in a febrile atmosphere that ended up being the subplot of the week.
He thinks that’s a shame, especially since Europe went on to become the first team to win an away Ryder Cup since 2012.
“Just over the last two weeks, being able to watch the highlights and just see, especially those first two days, in the foursomes and the four-balls how good [the] European team were,” McIlroy said. “The Americans would hit it close; we hit it closer. The Americans hole a putt, and we hole a putt on top [and] it happened every single time.
“The unfortunate thing is people aren’t remembering that and they are remembering the week for the wrong reason. I would like to shift the narrative and focus on how good the European team were and how proud I was to be part of that team to win an away Ryder Cup.”
McIlroy said he has been keen to play in India for some time as he seeks to make his schedule “more international.” In November, he will play in Abu Dhabi and at the European tour’s season-closing tournament in Dubai and then at the Australian Open in December.
“I think over the last few years, I’ve enjoyed it even more. I’ve enjoyed the travel,” he said. “I’ve enjoyed getting to play in front of people that I’ve never played in front of before.”
As a self-confessed cricket “sicko,” McIlroy said he was disappointed he wouldn’t be able to squeeze in attending a match in India’s favorite sport during his trip.
“I’d love to come back and do that,” he said.
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