It was announced on Tuesday that the 2031 Ryder Cup will be held at the Stadium Course at Camiral in Spain.
However, Jon Rahm, a Spaniard, doesn’t want to lead the team that year.
“I certainly hope I‘m not captain in ‘31,” he said on Wednesday ahead of LIV Golf United Kingdom.
Rahm would be only 36 years old, so instead, he endorsed another Spanish golf great to steer the ship that year.
“It would be absolutely incredible not only to continue Ryder Cups but to be a part of one and play in one at home,” Rahm said. “I don’t think I can describe it. Both Paris and Rome were so incredibly special that to think of playing one in Spain, I really couldn't put it into words.
“Knowing that some things smoothed over in the world of golf, that Sergio could possibly be the captain of the Ryder Cup team, that also adds to it. I really don‘t know what to—I wouldn't know how to feel.”
With their defection to LIV Golf, many European Ryder Cup stalwarts, such as Garcia, Lee Westwood and Ian Poulter, have made their future captaincy plans a bit contentious. Henrik Stenson was named captain for 2023, but that throne was stripped from him after jumping to LIV in ‘22. Luke Donald was then awarded the captaincy.
With plans in the works for the PGA Tour and LIV to somehow unify, the hope is that the friction in golf will be mended by 2031, perhaps paving the way for Garcia, the Ryder Cup’s all-time points leader, to get a crack at the helm.
Garcia, though, knows there’s a long way to go until then.
“Obviously, being Spanish and the Ryder Cup being in Spain, kind of like what Seve [Ballesteros] did in ’97, it would be something very special, but it’s too many years ahead,” the 45-year-old told LIV Golf.
But the possibility is already exciting for some.
“I think there’s something to say about possibly having a local captain,” Rahm said. “I think it would do wonders for the crowd. If history shows us anything, and it’s very hard to compare anybody to Seve, but I’ve only heard stories about what that Ryder Cup was like.
“I would say, if possible, I think that would be a very good choice to have Sergio be a part of that one.”
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Jon Rahm Doesn't Want to Be Ryder Cup Captain in Spain, Endorses Sergio Garcia.