Is this the biggest hint yet at Europe’s next Ryder Cup captain?

We talk about the Ryder Cup far too much.  

After all, it’s only three days out of every 730.5, only two teams (of men) from two continents (of seven) can actually play, it’s 18 holes of match play, it’s ultimately an exhibition in corporate overalls, it’s always won by the home team, and it’s played at the wrong time of the year. 

And it’s absolutely sensational.  

The greatest sporting occasion you could possibly imagine. One of which you can never tire of reminiscing, reflecting, remembering.  

We also spend far too many waking hours pondering and predicting, particularly when it comes to captains. So that’s exactly what I’m going to do for the next 500 words or so. 

In the immediate aftermath of his emphatic triumph in Rome, we all called for Luke Donald to take the reins for a second stint at Bethpage for the 2025 matches. Ryder Cup Europe listened, and gave us what we wanted. 

Of course, that decision was made easier by the fact a number of those in line for the job put themselves out of the running by joining LIV Golf. It seems bonkers, in hindsight, to think that Donald wasn’t even the first choice for 2023 – he replaced “sacked” Henrik Stenson, not that you need reminding – and would probably not have got the job at all with the likes of Ian Poulter, Lee Westwood and Sergio Garcia all shoo-ins before they had Riyal signs in their eyes.  

(I don’t think it gets spoken about enough, by the way. Luke Donald was a long shot to get the Ryder Cup captaincy AT ALL. Now he’s not only going to do it TWICE but he’s also going to the first captain to win TWO IN A ROW since Tony Jacklin in the ‘80s.) 

Anyway, I digress. 

Let’s start by breaking down the captains since the turn of the century. Sam Torrance was 49, Bernhard Langer 47, Ian Woosnam 48, Nick Faldo 51, Colin Montgomerie 47, Jose Maria Olazabal 46, Paul McGinley 47, Darren Clarke 48, Thomas Bjorn 47, and Padraig Harrington had just turned 50. Luke Donald was 45 for his first stint and will be 47 when he flies to New York next September. (Who said calculators are becoming obsolete?)  

Are you spotting the trend here? In your 40s and have a reasonable Ryder Cup record? Get that armband on you.

2027 will see the Ryder Cup return to the Emerald Isle at the sumptuous Adare Manor. Shane Lowry is Irish, according to Wikipedia, and will turn 40 that year, but are you going to tell him he’s not playing?  

Monday’s news that Justin Rose and Francesco Molinari will captain the teams in the somewhat unimaginatively named Team Cup – the Seve-Trophy-that-isn’t-actually-the-Seve-Trophy that relaunched as the Hero Cup in 2023 – is perhaps the biggest hint yet that one of those two will lead the side in three years’ time.     

Rose will be 47 in ‘27, while Molinari is two years his junior, so let’s hand the Englishman the wheel and his Italian counterpart can take charge in ’29 for Team Europe’s bid to cure the Hazeltine hangover. 

The 2031 Ryder Cup is largely expected to be in England, with the non-existent Hulton Park and existent London Golf Club both in the running. Tommy Fleetwood has backed the former project, and the now 40-year-old would no doubt love the opportunity to lead the side in his homeland. I’m all for it if you are. 

Then we’re getting into want-to-feel-really-old territory with Rory McIlroy leading the side at Olympic Club in California. He was asked about Adare by the Golf Channel recently and ruled it out immediately – but he will be 44 in 2033 and (presumably) still US-based. I don’t know why that’s my stipulation, but I’m sticking with it. 

Then we’re back to Lowry for 2035. He feels like a “home soil captain”, doesn’t he?

There we go. Easy. I don’t know why the Team Europe board makes such a big deal of this every other year.

I’m missing someone really obvious, aren’t I?

FWIW

(That means “for what it’s worth”, old man.)

I would absolutely be up for McIlroy vs Tiger Woods in ’27.

At The Open, Woods all but confirmed he’ll captain the US team at Adare Manor, which is owned by his good friend JP McManus, and I reckon McIlroy (and the powers that be) will find it far too tempting.

Having “contemplated it”, he decided that he is “absolutely not interested and added that “there’s too much work that goes into it”.

“I’ve seen what Luke went through preparing for Rome,” he continued. “There’s no way you can be as good a captain as you need to be and be playing as well.”

But he’ll see Keegan Bradley take to the player-captain role like a duck to water and make one of his classic Rory U-turns. 

BTW

(That means “by the way”, grandma.)

While I was never really inspired by Henrik Stenson’s appointment, nor was I excited about Lee Westwood getting the job, and it was more morbid fascination than anything that made me want to see Ian Poulter captain the side, I was – and still am – well up for Sergio Garcia leading the Europeans at some point.

And I hear Sergio and Tiger have history.

And finally…

I’ve been away for the past two weeks galivanting around the UK – first to Scotland to play some golf at Dumbarnie…

About last night… pic.twitter.com/75pdz2cGhM

— Alex Perry (@byAlexPerry) August 16, 2024

…and the Old Course…

When a man is tired of St Andrews, he is tired of life, for there is in St Andrews all that life can afford. pic.twitter.com/Vqeg72o0wu

— Alex Perry (@byAlexPerry) August 18, 2024

…before a few days on the beach in my native West Country (more on that in the latest issue of bunkered magazine), so let me point you in the direction of some brilliant stuff from my talented colleagues in the past few days.

What a get by Michael McEwan to have Anthony Kim on the podcast. I won’t spoil anything, but if you haven’t already it is an absolute must listen. Michael also wrote a piece about St Andrews with which I 100% agree.

Speaking of St Andrews, Ben Parsons and John Turnbull’s Women’s Open coverage was exemplary, while Lewis Fraser was also on the ground to get some entertaining social media footage from the world’s best.

And equipment launches in August? What a world! Luckily for you, James Tait is all over them.

Have a good week, and play well.

Alex Perry is the Associate Editor of bunkered. A journalist for more than 20 years, he has been a golf industry stalwart for the majority of his career and, in a five-year spell at ESPN, covered every sporting event you can think of. He completed his own Grand Slam at the 2023 Masters, having fallen in love with the sport at his hometown club of Okehampton and on the links of nearby Bude & North Cornwall.

Associate Editor