The 2025 Ryder Cup will kick off on September 26, and Keegan Bradley will captain Team USA, whereas Luke Donald will lead Team Europe. Ahead of the tournament, Grand Slam winner Rory McIlroy spoke on the differences between the captaincies in the two teams.
McIlroy is currently competing in the 2025 Genesis Scottish Open at The Renaissance Club. During a press conference after his second round, he spoke on the two Ryder Cup teams, saying that Team USA is usually a player-led team. He added that in his opinion, Team Europe is more captain-led. He said (via ASAP Sports):
“I think they give the captaincy — it’s a different perspective, absolutely. It really feels like it’s a player-led team in America, and obviously we have our input as player on The European Team, but we do have that one figurehead in Luke.”
The Northern Irish golfer used the 44th Ryder Cup, which was held in Rome, as an example. He said that when Team US “got off to a pretty bad start” in the 2023 tournament, they had no one to look to because the captain, Zach Johnson, gave the players so much ownership. On the other hand, he believes that it’s the opposite with the European team.
“They [team US] were looking at each other instead of having a focal point, tell us what to do. That is something that Europe has done very, very well. But also the players have allowed the captain to be a captain as well,” he added.
When speaking about Keegan Bradley as the Team USA Ryder Cup captain, Rory McIlroy said that the eight-time PGA Tour winner has had a great year. He also stated that Keegan is one of the top-12 American players right now, and the USA team is “better with Keegan playing than not playing.”
Rory McIlroy says he’s “feeling pretty good” about his game after his second round at the 2025 Genesis Scottish Open
Rory McIlroy won the 2025 Masters Tournament in April, marking his fifth major championship title and third win of the season. After firing a 65 in his second round at the Genesis Scottish Open, the Grand Slam winner admitted that he feels good about his game.
“I’m feeling pretty good. I did a lot of good things today. Still a couple of loose shots here and there, but overall I thought it was a good day.”
McIlroy said that he’s excited to be in contention for the title going into the last two days of the tournament. He also added that the last days of tournaments usually highlight areas of his game he needs to improve upon, and he’s looking forward to that.
Rory McIlroy scored 7-under 133 after two rounds at the Renaissance Club. He is currently tied for sixth place with Sepp Straka, Jake Knapp, and three other golfers. Four shots ahead, Chriss Gotterup has taken the sole lead with 11-under.
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Edited by Anisha Chatterjee