After Team Europe’s triumph at Bethpage, Luke Donald & his deputies were applauded for their tactical acumen and attention to detail. They were able to strategically decimate the American side on the first two days. That gave them enough advantage to win the 2025 Ryder Cup even when they underperformed on Sunday. After the outstanding run, most Europeans hope that Donald & his team resume duties in 2027 at Adare Manor. However, Graeme McDowell thinks otherwise.

In an honest take on the current situation of Ryder Cup captaincy, McDowell said, “I only saw a couple of comments where Luke said maybe he doesn’t want to do it a third time. Justin Rose doesn’t want it because he wants to play. Rory is obviously not even close, right? He doesn’t want to be playing captain. So it’s kind of like, ‘who’s it going to be?’ And why couldn’t it be me? I would love to be the olive branch that potentially puts some of this back together again.”

Considering all the realistic candidates for captaincy in 2027, Donald is still uncertain about whether he would want to take up the role for a third time. Justin Rose is still enjoying his prime as a player to give up his position for captaincy. And Rory McIlroy has admitted that he doesn’t want to take up the responsibility until sometime around the mid-2030s. That puts McDowell in a great position to be considered for the role. Especially when his experience playing the Ryder Cup comes into the picture.

The Northern Irishman has represented Team Europe four times, out of which he saw the team win thrice. In fact, he was part of the famous European side that won three consecutive Ryder Cups from 2010 to 2014. McDowell’s last Ryder Cup appearance also saw him go on an undefeated run as he won all three of the matches he participated in in 2014 at the Gleneagles Hotel. That makes him a great candidate for the role.

However, Graeme McDowell might face some resistance from the Ryder Cup Europe officials due to his allegiance with LIV Golf. But the 46-year-old had an appropriate response for that as well.

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Why Graeme McDowell being a LIV Golf pro should not affect his hopes for Ryder Cup captaincy?

Graeme McDowell strongly believes that he doesn’t have as much influence in the golf community as his association with LIV Golf should affect his chances. He said, “People will say I don’t deserve it, and I’m responsible for a lot of what’s happened. But I’m a very, very small cog in this big wheel. The divisiveness has come from the best players in the world. It hasn’t come from the 40-somethings like myself that are just trying to eke out a living and staying competitive on an opportunity that was presented to us, which would have been crazy to say no to from a business point of view.”

Unlike Phil Mickelson, Bryson DeChambeau, or Jon Rahm, he doesn’t move the needle in golf. As he mentioned, he’s just “trying to eke out a living,” and LIV Golf presented a better, more lucrative opportunity for him than the PGA Tour. Those days of him winning the 2010 U.S. Open are long gone, and he considers himself an experienced veteran, it seems. So while Mickelson might be seeking the same role in Team U.S., Graeme McDowell certainly seems a lot more eligible to take it up.

Graeme McDowell’s dream of captaining Team Europe at Adare Manor may face hurdles, but it also represents the kind of bridge golf desperately needs right now. With the sport still split by tour politics, his experience, humility, and genuine passion could help restore unity within European golf. The question now is, will Ryder Cup Europe see him as a symbol of the past’s controversy, or the key to its next era of togetherness?