Who will be the American captain of the Ryder Cup, McIlroy returns

By: GOLF Editors July 7, 2024

Tiger Woods and Steve Stricker at the 2019 Presidents Cup in Australia.

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Check out our writers and editors' unfiltered opinions each week as they analyze the hottest topics in the sport, and join the conversation by tweeting us at @golf_com. This week, we discuss the Ryder Cup captaincy, Rory McIlroy's return to tournament golf, the LPGA's fourth major of the year and much more.

With the Fourth of July and the red, white and blue in mind, let's look ahead to the 2025 Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black. The Americans still don't have a captain. Who do you think it will be?

Jessica Marksbury, Editor-in-Chief (@jess_marksbury): It has to be Tiger, right? That's the only reason I can think of for the delay. Unless Tiger is supposed to be the one who gets the job and he doesn't want the job for some reason, and now they're scrambling.

Josh Berhow, Editor-in-Chief (@Josh_Berhow): Tiger told Valhalla that they were still working on this conversation and that he was wondering if he had time to fully commit to it, but that was almost two months ago now. As our Sean Zak wrote in April, they were way behind on naming a captain then (and even more so now). If the PGA of America is going to wait for Tiger to decide, he’s going to have to stop holding everyone hostage at some point. I still think Tiger could do it, but if Tiger isn’t the man for the job, someone like Steve Stricker could be a good fit. He led the U.S. to a big win the last time they were on home soil. Plus, after last year’s disaster, he could be the man to get the Americans back on track.

Ryan Barath, Editor-in-Chief (@rdsbarath): Logic and history tell us Phil should have been the choice, but after the last few years that choice has completely failed and I think Tiger is the obvious choice. Now, if Mr. Woods continues to cause delays in the process as has been reported, I think the choice could default to Stricker as Josh suggested, which I think would be a real disappointment for the event.

Berhow: I don't know if I would call it a disappointment. Bethpage will already be a great home stadium, and even if Tiger isn't captain, he could be an assistant or even captain. But if Tiger isn't captain this time, it's not like it's never going to happen, his term will just be pushed back two (or four?) years.

Rory McIlroy returns this week to defend his title at the Genesis Scottish Open, which will be his first start since finishing second at the US Open and deciding to take some time off. How do you think Rory will perform at the Scottish Open and, more importantly, a week later at the final major of the year?

Marksbury: I expect Rory to perform as well as he has, maybe even win! After all, he is the reigning Scottish Open champion. And his Open record is encouraging, with five top-six finishes since 2016, in addition to his win in 2014. Mentally, though, I suppose it’s hard to say how much time he’ll need to recover from the US Open. Three weeks of rest went by in a flash. Hopefully he’s been able to get the decompression and treatment time he needs.

Berhow: I think he'll play very well this week and I wouldn't be surprised if he's motivated enough to win. It's not like he's playing badly, he just missed two crucial short putts late in the round and lost a major. I'm not worried about this week. But the week after? Royal Troon is the last major of the year. If he has any lingering nerves or ends up putting too much pressure on himself, I think it'll happen more often than this week, which seems like a good time to come back without stress. But I still expect him to play well at the Open. He's struggled to win majors over the last decade, not to fight.

Barath: I'll be honest, I expect Rory to come out in “kick ass” mode. Do I want him to win? Maybe, but I'd also rather see him win the Open, so if he plays well but doesn't win, I still consider that a very good omen for the last major of the year.

In a recent interview with Bloomberg, Phil Mickelson said he doesn’t believe a merger between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf is “necessary” for the future of professional golf, saying what’s happened so far—PGA Tour Signature events, player equity, and pros (like Bryson DeChambeau) building their brands—has already benefited both leagues. The competition that both tours provide is what drives them forward, he said. So is a merger necessary? Probably not. But it would be a good thing if there wasn’t hostility. Do you agree with him?

Marksbury: Is it necessary? I don't think so. The Tour and the LIV will continue to exist. But I think it's fair to say that LIV players like Jon Rahm would probably appreciate a meeting of the minds at least to pave the way for creating more world ranking point opportunities for LIV players. And from a fan perspective, we certainly want to see more tournaments where all the best players in the world are in one place.

Berhow: He’s right that it helped the PGA Tour add Signature Events and the Player Equity Program (making the rich richer), but it certainly didn’t help the overall product by removing some key players. Two diluted tours is not the way to go. If they played together about eight times a year (instead of just the majors), you could argue that’s enough. But seeing the best players in the world play the same tournaments only four times in a calendar year is not the best for the sport and its fans.

Barath: Back to Josh, the best players have to play the best players more often than four times a year, and right now the separation is only hurting the PGA Tour and elevating the majors even more. It's good for the majors, but not for the general interest of the fans, and if the rich want to get richer, they'd better draw more attention to the regular events.

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After six wins in seven appearances, world number one Nelly Korda has missed the cut in her last three tournaments. She should be back in action this week at the Evian Championship, the fourth of five majors, if she is able to play after recovering from a dog bite that forced her to withdraw from an Aramco Team Series event. Do you think Korda will get back on track in France?

Marksbury: Given Nelly's form at the start of the year, I can only believe that the MCs were a total aberration. She has a good run at Evian, with two top-9 finishes in her last two appearances. I like her chances of challenging for the third major spot.

Berhow: I think so. I don't know if I'm going to predict she'll win, because winning is hard, but it seems unlikely that Nelly will miss a fourth straight game. She's never even missed three in a row until now! I think she'll fight. I hope she's healthy and can play.

Barath: Assuming the injury was minor and the withdrawal was just a precaution, I expect Nelly to be competitive in Evian. Every player usually has a few weeks a year where the game decides to stop for no apparent reason, but at her level, I don't see that lasting the rest of the year.

Let's end with an easy question. We're biased, but there are few things better than a weekend vacation on the greens. What's your favorite golf course you've ever played?

Marksbury: Almost any course in the Phoenix area is suitable for summer. If you can handle the 115-degree daytime temperatures, you can get great deals on top-tier courses. My favorite municipal course lately is a nine-hole executive course owned by the City of Phoenix called Palo Verde, which I can play with my kids. Green fees are $25 and kids are $5. A new favorite!

Berhow: Keller Golf Course ($53 walk) just outside of St. Paul, Minnesota, a course I love and haven't played in over two years. I'm going to change that soon.

Barath: I’ve raved about this place many times before and I’ll say it again, my local Norfolk Golf Club is a fun nine-hole course that tops out at less than 3,000 yards and has a history with classic Canadian architect Stanley Thompson. The fact that it can be walked in less than 90 minutes most afternoons makes it one of my favorite places to play.

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