Phil Mickelson Offered Ryder Cup Captainship And Declines

The biggest golf event has officially concluded Sunday night.  The Ryder Cup ended with a victory for the European team, beating the American team on their own home turf.  There have been plenty of ups and downs, from Viktor Hovland withdrawing to residents embracing the opportunity the tournament provided.  Now that the Ryder Cup has concluded, the next question is what comes next.  It seems that Lee Westwood has an answer, and it involves Phil Mickelson.

Westwood Calls on Mickelson

For the next Ryder Cup, if either Westwood or Mickelson were to play, they would be on opposing teams.  Westwood on the European team and Mickelson on the US team.  Westwood’s idea was for Mickelson to be the team captain for the US team.  Westwood put out the idea on his Twitter account on Saturday night.

“Hey @PhilMickelson Fancy @TheAdareManor 2027???”

The 2027 Ryder Cup is scheduled to take place at Adare Manor in Ireland.  Forcing the Americans to face off against the European team on their own home turf.  Mickelson would also be in a good position as team captain.  For the 2025 Ryder Cup, the US team got a manager along with the captain.  The move allowed the captain to focus more on the sport and left all the busy work to someone else.  

Mickelson has never captained himself, but he was the vice captain during the 2021 Ryder Cup.  He couldn’t be on for 2023 because he was caught up in the LIV Golf embargo.  Mickelson also missed the chance again for the 2025 Ryder Cup, despite suggesting Bethpage as a venue as early as 2010.  With Westwood’s tweet out in the world, the next thing Mickelson had to do was answer.  Mickelson did just that the very next morning.

Mickelson Declines

Despite the suggestion and the honor that comes with being a team captain, Mickelson politely declined.  In fact, Phil Mickelson stated that he was done playing in the Ryder Cup altogether.  He responded to a tweet from Golf.com that highlighted Westwood’s original tweet.  It came with the proclamation, “Let the rumors begin.”  Mickelson quickly stopped that rumor mill before it got going.

“No rumors. My Ryder Cup involvement is over. I’m happy being a spectator and rooting for Team USA.”

Instead of seeing him on the field, fans can expect to see Phil Mickelson watching the tournament with them.  Lee Westwood went on to continue cheering for the European team until the end of the tournament.  All the while, live-tweeting with pride for his team.

Ryder Cup Captain In 2027

There’s still plenty of time to decide on who the captains will be before the next Ryder Cup.  There are plenty of great American players whose names are floating around.  Of course, one that quickly came up after Mickelson declined the offer was Tiger Woods.  A fine candidate given Woods’ history and legacy in the sport.  Only time will tell who the next team captains are.  Until that time comes to pass, Luke Donald’s team is reveling in their victory Sunday night for the 2025 Ryder Cup.