Rory McIlroy opened up about the Ryder Cup captaincy after winning the biennial tournament last month. Following the European team’s incredible win in New York, the Northern Irish golfer traveled to India for the 2025 DP World India Championship, which is scheduled to start on Thursday, October 16.

In a pre-tournament press conference on Wednesday, McIlroy opened up about the Ryder Cup and whether he wanted to be the captain in the future. The World No. 2 said that he aspired to be a captain, but not in the upcoming edition in 2027. He said (via ASAP Sports):

“Sometime, yes. Certainly not 2027. I hope I’m still playing at that point. But yeah, I would love to be The European Team Captain at some point. But that will be beyond my playing days, or at least when my playing days are coming to an end and I’m not good enough to make the team or I make way for the new generation to come along.

“Hopefully that’s not in 2027. (Laughter) Hopefully I’m still good enough to play and put points on the board for Europe. But yeah, absolutely, I would love to be a captain one day, and I feel very fortunate that I’ve had a front row seat playing under some of the best captains in history in the Ryder Cup,” he added.

Rory McIlroy has played in the Ryder Cup eight times in his career since making his debut in 2010. He has been part of the winning team six times, with the only times the European team lost while McIlroy was in the team being in 2016 and 2021.

Rory McIlroy opens up about the Ryder Cup captain

In the pre-tournament press conference of the 2025 DP World India Championship, Rory McIlroy also opened up about the European Ryder Cup captain, Luke Donald. Under his guidance, the European team has won the biennial tournament twice in a row.

Rory McIlroy reflected on Donald’s captaincy and said (via ASAP Sports):

“I think what Luke Donald has done the last two Ryder Cups has revolutionised the captaincy within Europe. And I feel like Paul McGinley in Gleneagles in 2014, he was a wonderful captain, and I learned a lot from him. And there’s been wonderful captains between them, as well. All of them have been wonderful.”

Luke Donald is also playing this week in India alongside several other Ryder Cup stars, including Tommy Fleetwood, Shane Lowry, and also a US team member Ben Griffin.

Rory McIlroy had an incredible time this season on the PGA Tour and completed his career grand slam by winning the Masters in April. He also won the Players Championship and the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.

It’s his first outing in India, and it would be interesting to see how things unfold for him.