Ryder Cup 2025: Phil Mickelson as next U.S. Ryder Cup captain? Here's what he had to say about it

Barring a never-going-to-happen historic comeback from the U.S. Ryder Cup team on Sunday at Bethpage Black, the biggest question facing those involved with the American squad is where do you go from here, specifically regarding who should be captain of the U.S. team when it goes on the road in 2027 to Adare Manor?

Keegan Bradley was an outside-the-box choice for 2025, but perhaps too outside the box to have any real chance at success.

In reality, the question is even more nuanced: Who would want the job? The U.S. hasn’t won a Ryder Cup on the road since 1993, and the Americans will be trying to break that bad mojo while also carrying the burden of a two-match losing streak.

The PGA of America’s first choice in all likelihood would be Tiger Woods. The thing is, he turned it down in 2025. If he were similarly not interested or willing to two years, there’s really no obvious next-in-line candidate—as was the case this time.

Unless, however, a potential wrinkle could somehow come into play, as posed by a veteran of the European Ryder Cup team.

Before defecting to LIV Golf, Phil Mickelson was believed to be in line to be U.S. captain this week at Bethpage Black. He was an assistant in 2021 and seemed to be in the pipeline for the head job on Long Island.

The idea of a LIV player becoming captain of either the U.S. or European teams seems very unlikely; the Europeans would actually have to re-write their rules to allow it to happen. It also seems like Mickelson isn’t biting on the idea either.

Oh well … doesn’t stop us from wondering what might have been

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