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Rory McIlroy’s focus on PGA could cost him shot at Ryder Cup Captaincy

By Christopher O'Day

NEWTOWN SQUARE, PA - SEPTEMBER 08: Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland reacts on the 18th green during the third round of the BMW Championship at Aronimink Golf Club on September 8, 2018 in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Drew Hallowell/Getty Images)
NEWTOWN SQUARE, PA - SEPTEMBER 08: Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland reacts on the 18th green during the third round of the BMW Championship at Aronimink Golf Club on September 8, 2018 in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Drew Hallowell/Getty Images) /
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Rory McIlroy recently decided to focus more on the PGA Tour, citing that he wanted to play better at majors. This decision is going to keep him from playing on the European Tour, and potentially cost him a shot at ever captaining the European Ryder Cup Team.

A new European tour rule was recently put into effect. As the European Tour states “… that players cannot be a European Ryder Cup Captain or a Vice-Captain if they decline membership of the European Tour or fail to fulfil their minimum event obligation in any season, from 2018 onwards.” This could have large implications for Rory McIlroy.

If Rory ever wants to Captain, or even be a Vice-Captain for the European squad, he is going to need to re-think his decision about focusing on the PGA in 2019. Since this is a non Ryder Cup year, it wont affect his ability to play in the event. As long as he picks up his membership again next year, he will be eligible to play.

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All of this stems from the changes that the PGA Tour made going forward, starting in 2019. They have moved the events around, and made them more condensed. The PGA Championship is now in May, and the FedEx Cup concludes earlier than in the past, finishing in August.

If the rule is non-negotiable, there will still be time for Rory McIlroy to change his mind. Currently, he has stated that his plan is to take some time off, to get ready for the condensed season.

The season just ended on the European Tour over in Dubai, in which Rory was a part of. He has said to the press that he plans on taking it easy until early February. His only current plan is to play in the PGA Sentry Tournament of Champions in January as prep for the upcoming season.

The rule for keeping your membership on the European Tour is to play “four tournaments (outside the Majors and WGCs)….” Rory McIlroy looks to have two Euro events on his schedule, The European Masters and the Scottish Open.

If he decides that he wants to keep his card in order to be a captain down the line, it will be easy enough to do. He could play in the Abu Dhabi and Duabi tournaments that he has played in nearly every year of his career already. That would get him to the four needed tournaments, and keep the opportunity open.

There is still time for Rory to decide what he wants to do. Focusing on the PGA seems to be the most important thing to him right now, as does getting back into contention for winning majors. He hasn’t won one since 2014, but seems to be on the right track after contending well for the Masters and at The Open.

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Whether you are a fan of the United States squad or the European squad, having Rory at the Ryder Cup is good for golf. Having him there as a captain is important as well. It’s a long ways away, but it’s never too soon to start thinking about leading the Ryder Cup squad. Either way, the more people around the world can watch Rory McIlroy, the better it is for the game of golf.

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