Ryder Cup: Graeme McDowell accepts he may miss out on chance to captain Team Europe
Graeme McDowell, speaking after the opening round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational about future European captains: "There's going to be seven or eight guys vying for the next five or six and someone's going to miss"
Last Updated: 03/03/22 7:45pm
Graeme McDowell fears he may never get the opportunity to captain Team Europe at a Ryder Cup after ruling himself out of the running to succeed Padraig Harrington.
The former US Open champion was among the potential candidates to lead Europe in Rome next September, having played in four consecutive Ryder Cups between 2008 and 2014 before acting as a vice-captain in the last two editions of the biennial contest.
McDowell said in December that he was going to focus on continuing his playing career and would love to take on the captaincy role in future, although is wary of the competition he faces to lead Europe in future Ryder Cups.
"I think there's too many great guys stacking up, there's too many great players," McDowell said after his opening round at Bay Hill. "There's going to be seven or eight guys vying for the next five or six and someone's going to miss.
"When you're talking about [Lee] Westwood and [Sergio] Garcia and Justin Rose, you're talking about top, top European players, of which I am one, but those guys have maybe slightly different credentials than me.
"I just don't think I'm quite ready. Part of me would love to because part of me thinks, if I don't take this one, I might not get it, which would be disappointing. But I kind of have to put my own individual career first.
"I desperately want to get back playing consistently well at a high level again rather than maybe taking my attention away and taking the Ryder Cup captaincy. Maybe part of me would be suggesting that I'm not good enough to make the team.
"Are there 12 better players than me in Europe right now? I've got to ask myself that question. If I'm out here doing what I'm doing, I have to say there's not 12 guys better than me, and I'm good enough to make the team.
"To be able to compete at a high level, I have to have that belief. If I take the captaincy then that belief is not there and it makes it hard for me to compete. That's sort of what really the decision's got to come down to. I'd love to be captain one day, but if I don't take it this time, I'm well aware that I might miss, which would be disappointing."
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Why has Europe's captain not been announced?
Luke Donald, Henrik Stenson, Robert Karlsson and Paul Lawrie are four names in serious consideration to captain Team Europe at Marco Simone Golf and Country Club, with an announcement expected in the coming weeks.
"There certainly needs to be a slight delay on our side," McDowell added. "It seems like the Saudi league seems to be a variable that is kind of putting things on delay at the minute.
"Like I say, from my point of view, it's certainly nothing to do with the Saudi league why I'm not going to take the captaincy. It's really about me just trying to focus on what I'm doing out there as much as I possibly can.
"We'll see. I think Luke Donald will do a great job. I think Henrik Stenson will do a great job. It's just a case of which one of these guys want it."
