There may have been a couple motives behind McIlroy's recent take on what may happen for the American side in 2025

Rory McIlroy says he rejected the idea of being a playing captain at a future Ryder Cup "straight away" as he believes it "would be very difficult to do".

Rory McIlroy has laid down the Ryder Cup gauntlet by insisting the idea of a playing captain cannot work. Team USA’s qualifying race ends this week at the BMW Championship in Chicago, the hours ticking down to Keegan Bradley’s eagerly awaited decision on whether to name himself as one of his team picks.