Rory insists USA better with Keegan as a player-captain

RORY McILROY believes it is vital to have Luke Donald as Europe’s Ryder Cup figurehead as he waded into the dilemma facing Keegan Bradley.

- By Craig Swan

McIlroy says the form of Bradley, below, is good enough for him to be a player-captain in New York in September.

However, the Northern Irishman stated 12 months ago that it would be impossible for anyone to perform both roles at a modern-day Ryder Cup.

After McIlroy moved into contention at the Scottish Open with a second-round 65, he joked about the player-captaincy position: “Hopefully it is impossible!”

“They [the US] give the captaincy a different perspective. It feels like it’s a player-led team.

“We have our input as players on the European team but we do have that one figurehead in skipper Luke. That’s important.

“Even going back to Rome in 2023 when the Americans got off to a pretty rough start, because Zach [Johnson] gave the team so much ownership, they had no one to look to.