Justin Rose has his sights set on the 2025 Ryder Cup, but as a player and not a captain…
Justin Rose has ruled himself out as Europe’s next Ryder Cup captain.
The Englishman said the 2025 edition is “too early” for him and he must “believe he can play” against the USA for a seventh time at Bethpage.
Rose spoke to the Telegraph about Europe’s victory at the 2023 Ryder Cup in Rome where he contributed 1.5 points playing with rookie Bob MacIntyre.
The 43-year-old, Europe’s oldest player at Marco Simone, won his 11th PGA Tour title earlier this year at Pebble Beach and believes there’s more from him to come.
“2025 is too early for me,” he said. “The captaincy starts next year and I feel like I’ve got some good things ahead of me as a player.
“It’s not so much that I feel I need to play at Bethpage, it’s more than I need to believe I can play. That’s important. If you look at Luke, he sacrificed a lot this year and last year, because his game was coming back but he had to concentrate on the Ryder Cup.
“In truth, it probably came too early for him but because of the circumstances (with Henrik Stenson’s removal as captain) he probably thought he should do it.
“I acknowledge there is probably no perfect juncture at which to do it, and that if I was asked I might have to make a big commitment, even if it would affect my playing ambitions, because it’s a huge honour.
“But I think there is a time when it’s your sweet spot to be captain. You have to be current, can’t have stopped playing, because that link has to be there.
“So it’s a fine line. But in my view Luke is probably coming to that sweet spot right now.”
Justin Rose: European Ryder Cup captain in 2025? Or another Englishman…
After Europe beat America 16.5-11.5 in Italy, calls immedtiaely sounded for Donald to lead the blue and gold again in New York.
During the winning team’s post Ryder Cup press conference last month, Rory McIlroy stated “everyone sitting here would be very happy to have him again.”
No one has captained Europe in consecutive years since Bernard Gallacher in 1995. The Scotsman led Europe for a third time in a row that year too.
Ian Poulter was once touted to captain Europe at Bethpage at what is expected to be a raucous venue with passionate fans lining each hole.
But Rose has added fuel to Donald’s fire and welcomed the possiblity of his fellow former World No.1 taking up the reins in two years.
“We all recognise how difficult it is to win away nowadays and whichever captain does it, can claim the ultimate Ryder Cup success,” Rose added.
“But if it happens in 2025, I want to contribute as a player. If Luke wants it, he should get it.
“It’s New York and it’s going to be loud, isn’t it? We always thought that Poults (Ian Poulter) would have the gumption to go there and front down the crowd, but think about it, Luke’s quiet demeanour could be the answer, diffusing the situation rather than antagonising it.
“Luke did a fine, fine job in Rome and I’ve always thought it a little crazy that we have these guys who do great as captain, gather all this experience and knowledge – and then someone else comes in and has to learn how to do it himself.
“No other sport would do that, in such a big competition, would it? We have this neat tradition where the learnings are passed on, but each captain is different and has his own mark.
“Luke certainly had his. He didn’t put a foot wrong.”
NOW READ: The Slam Podcast: Is Luke Donald the only choice for the 2025 Ryder Cup?
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