Rory McIlroy has already “shot down” the prospect of one day combining Ryder Cup player and captaincy roles, saying “I don’t think you can do it”.

The 36-year-old will play in his eighth Ryder Cup at Bethpage in September as Europe look to defend the cup on American soil for the first time since 2012 and the ‘Miracle at Medinah’.

The prospect of juggling both roles is one USA captain Keegan Bradley potentially faces, currently sitting 10th on the country’s qualification list.

“The idea of me being a playing captain sometime soon has come up and I’ve shot it down straight away because I don’t think you can do it,” said McIlroy, who finished as Europe’s leading points scorer in the victory in Rome two years ago.

“If you’d have said it 20 years ago I’d say it was probably possible to do, but how big of a spectacle it is and everything that’s on the line in a Ryder Cup now, I just think it would be a very difficult position to be in.

“There’s a lot of things that people don’t see that the captain does the week of the Ryder Cup, especially now that the Ryder Cup has become so big.

“You think about the extra meetings that the captains have to do with the vice captains, with the PGA of America, in Keegan’s case, preparing your speech for the opening ceremony.

“Really, the captain’s only going to be able to play one session on Friday, one session on Saturday. Would you rather not have a player that has the flexibility to go twice if he’s playing well?

“Look, it’s just my opinion, but I think it would just be very difficult to do.”

Scheffler: Bradley has exceeded expectations

McIlroy was speaking ahead of the BMW Championship, where he will tee off alongside world No 1 Scottie Scheffler on Thursday.

Adding his thoughts on the potential duel Ryder Cup role facing Bradley, Scheffler said: “Looking at our squad, we have a really good group of guys and I think Keegan can only help that.

“I think if it’s something that Keegan wants to be part of the team and wants to play, I think he’s a guy we’d all love to have on the team.

“The intensity that he’s brought as a captain, he has definitely exceeded my expectations. He’s done a great job.

“He’s passionate about the Ryder Cup. He cares a lot about us as players.

“It’s been a lot of fun kind of watching him develop in this role, and we’re excited to get the Ryder Cup started.

McIlroy stands by St. Jude Championship absence

The BMW Championship at Caves Valley Golf Club – live on Sky Sports from Thursday – continues the FedExCup playoffs, with the top 30 qualifying for the PGA Tour’s season-ending Tour Championship next week.

McIlroy skipped the opening event last week, the St. Jude Championship, knowing he was already guaranteed a spot.

McIlroy pointed to the Ryder Cup, as well as upcoming DP World Tour events – including the Irish Open and BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth – and his pursuit of a seventh Race to Dubai title as the reasoning behind his decision.

“A lot of the guys aren’t 18 years into their professional career. I feel like I’m in a little bit of a different position,” he said.

“I’m playing nine times between now and the end of the year, so I’ve still got a pretty busy stretch coming up and I just think that extra week off will do me good with the events coming up.”

How to watch BMW Championship live on Sky Sports this week?

Sky Sports will have extended coverage from all three of the FedExCup Playoffs, with all tournament rounds on Sky Sports Golf and bonus coverage on Sky Sports+.

Early coverage of the BMW Championship begins at 2.15pm over the first two rounds on Sky Sports+, ahead of full coverage from 5pm on Thursday and Friday and 6pm over the weekend on Sky Sports Golf.

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