Rory McIlroy said he rejected the idea of being a playing captain at a future Ryder Cup “straight away” as he believes it “would be very difficult to do”.
The 36-year-old from Northern Ireland will again spearhead the European challenge at this year’s event which will be staged at Bethpage Black in New York on 26-28 September.
World number 12 Keegan Bradley was picked to captain the United States in July 2024 after 15-time major champion Tiger Woods turned down the role.
But after a strong run of form in 2025 including nine top-20 finishes, the 2011 US PGA champion is 10th in the American rankings for a team that will be made up of six automatic qualifiers and six wildcards.
McIlroy does not believe it is possible to combine the roles of player and captain, and speaking before the start of the BMW Championship in Maryland on Thursday, the Masters champion revealed he had turned down the chance to do so “sometime soon”.
The 2027 Ryder Cup will be held at Adare Manor in the Republic of Ireland.
“I’ve been asked to do that and I’ve turned it down. The idea of me being a playing captain sometime soon has come up and I’ve shot it down straight away,” he said.
“I don’t think you can do it.”