NEW DELHI — Rory McIlroy has expressed a desire to one day become European Ryder Cup captain — but not until “the mid-2030s.”
McIlroy plays his first tournament in India this week as he returns to competition 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 last eight Ryder Cups and, as world number 2 and current Masters champion, he believes he will be in the team for a few more, including Ireland in 2027.
But he said Wednesday he wants to lead the team as a captain rather than a star player in the future.
“Absolutely, I would love to be captain one day, and I feel very lucky to have had a front row seat playing under some of the best captains in history at the Ryder Cup,” McIlroy said, name-checking Paul McGinley – the winning skipper in 2014 – and Luke Donald, who has led Europe in the last two matches.
“But,” he added, “I would say not until the mid-2030s, if I can continue to play well.”
McIlroy was on the receiving end of a barrage of insults from the American spectators at Bethpage Black and occasionally returned the favor in a feverish atmosphere that ended up being the subplot of the week.
He thinks it’s a shame, especially since Europe became the first team to win a Ryder Cup away from home since 2012.
“Just in the last couple of weeks, being able to watch the highlights and see, especially those first two days, in the foursomes and the fourballs, how much [the] The European team was,” McIlroy said. “The Americans would hit close; we hit it closer. The Americans make a putt, and we make an over putt [and] It happened every time.
“The unfortunate thing is people don’t remember it and remember this week for the wrong reasons. I’d like to change the narrative and focus on how good the European team was and how proud I was to be part of that team to win the Ryder Cup away.”
McIlroy said he has wanted to play in India for some time as he seeks to make his program “more international.” In November, he will play in Abu Dhabi and at the European Tour 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 journey,” he said. “I enjoyed playing in front of people I had never played in front of before.”
As a self-confessed cricket “sick”, McIlroy said he was disappointed not to be able to attend a match of India’s favorite sport during his trip.
“I would love to come back and do that,” he said.
