Rory taking huge gamble on Ryder Cup captaincy
McILROY’S BIG GAMBLE IF HE GIVES UP EUROPEAN CARD
RORY McILROY is considering relinquishing his European Tour membership next year, which in turn would rule him out of ever becoming Ryder Cup captain.
It could also mean that he won’t play in next year’s Irish Open which he has worked so diligently as host to reestablish in recent years.
The Holywood golfer is searching for answers following a disappointing season and, in the year when he will turn 30, believes his career will best be served by concentrating nearly all his energies on playing on the PGA Tour in America.
One, possibly unforeseen, consequence of giving up his membership, however, is that he would have to forget any captaincy aspirations he holds.
A regulation drawn up last year states: ‘Players cannot be a Ryder Cup captain or vice-captain if they decline membership of the European Tour or fail to fulfil their minimum event obligation in any season, from 2018 onwards.’
McIlroy was decidedly blasé yesterday about giving up his membership in 2019.
Right now, he has just two regular European Tour events on his schedule and needs four to remain a member. Even his participation in the Irish Open — the event he put back on the map — is in considerable doubt.
‘I guess my thinking is that I want to play against the strongest fields week in, week out, and for the most part of the year that means playing in America,’ explained the world No 5, whose only victory this season came back in March at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
‘If I want to contend in the majors and continue my journey back towards the top of the game, that’s what I want to do. If it were that I don’t fulfil my European Tour membership next year, it’s not a Ryder Cup year so it’s not the end of the world. I’m always going to want to play in the Ryder Cup, so if I give up my membership, I’ll rejoin in 2020 and try to make the team that way.’
However, he may have a rethink once the new regulation, presumably introduced to deter any Euro star from such thoughts, is pointed out.
McIlroy could pursue his line of thinking quite easily next year while still retaining his membership in Europe. He will play in either the Irish or Scottish Opens in July, with the latter the slight favourite given his stated wish to play the week before the majors. The Scottish Open is staged immediately before the Open. He will also likely play in the European Masters in September, promoted by one of his sponsors, Omega. All he would need to do is find two more events on the European schedule from September onwards, when the PGA Tour season will have ended. Given there will be six Rolex Series events staged between September and November, all offering minimum prize funds of £5.7million and decent-strength fields, it’s not as if he will be slumming it. The golf calendar is undergoing a significant shift next year which is positively encouraging the superstars to spend more time in America. The USPGA Championship is moving from August to a May date, with the Players Championship pushed back to March and the FedEx Cup occupying the month of August. For McIlroy, it makes perfect sense to concentrate on America between March and August, aside from the window around the Open in July.
‘Everything is going to be so condensed between March and August.
‘I am going to take a big off-season and then go at it hard between those months,’ said McIlroy.