Stewart Cink has thrown his hat into the mix for the 2027 US Ryder Cup captaincy.
Cink was actually keen on being the Ryder Cup captain at Bethpage Black but the PGA of America opted to appoint Keegan Bradley in the end.
Not perturbed, though, Cink has insisted he wants the Ryder Cup captain’s job at Adare Manor in 2027.
The popular 52-year-old American would be a very good choice for the role. Bradley seemed to be out of his depth at the Ryder Cup last week, as he made a succession of bizarre decisions.
Using the Harris English and Collin Morikawa pairing twice in the foursomes sessions was unforgivable.
The 39-year-old relied too much on his gut feeling at Bethpage, rather than properly analyzing and implementing the data available to him.
And Cink’s extra experience in the game would undoubtedly serve him well in Ireland.
And the 2009 Open champion could be forgiven for wondering why on earth he wasn’t given the gig at Bethpage.
Stewart Cink’s Ryder Cup admission is concerning after Keegan Bradley’s appointment
Cink responded when asked about whether he’d be up for leading the US team in Ireland in two years’ time.
He said: “Heck yeah I’m interested in being the Ryder Cup captain. I would love to represent the United States and the players, take some of the experience I’ve got and apply it.
“Hopefully get this thing turned around, it feels like the Ryder Cup has been a European party for about 15 years or more and I would love to try and change that.“
However, something else he said really caught the eye.
Cink opened up about how he took part in an interview for the 2025 Ryder Cup captaincy.
“I thought it went well, but I haven’t received one word since then,” Cink said. “Never got a call back that said we’re going in another direction. All I know is at the end of the conversation it sounded like, ‘Things looks pretty good for you.’ Never heard another word.
“I was gutted. I thought I had a pretty good shot at it,” he said. “It’s not a selfish thing though; I want the team to be the best team it can be. I thought the PGA got themselves into a mess this year because Keegan was one of our top 12 players and because he was captain, they kind of prevented him from playing. I don’t have any desire or designs to think that I will be on the next team. So, we can remove that topic right away. But I’m not that far removed from playing out there every week and the majors and even winning tournaments.”
Reading between the lines, that’s a hugely concerning admission from Cink.
What Keegan Bradley said about Ryder Cup captaincy in 2024 now looks terrible
Bradley reacted with pure shock to being made Ryder Cup captain back in 2024.
He said: “I don’t think I’ll ever be more surprised of anything in my entire life. I had no idea. It took a while for it to sink in.
“I didn’t have one conversation with anybody about this until I was told I was the captain.
“I got a call from Seth and John and Zach, and I had trouble talking. When they called me, I felt funny after the call because I don’t think I reacted in the way that they were expecting me to. I was in complete shock. It was heavy.“
So the question being asked now is: why was Cink forced to undergo an interview but Bradley wasn’t?
The PGA of America’s appointment of Bradley was clearly somewhat of an apology to him, after he was bizarrely left off the 2023 Ryder Cup team.
However, the 39-year-old was a really poor appointment from the start, given the fact that he was still playing regularly on the PGA Tour.
While Luke Donald was meticulously planning ahead of the showdown at Bethpage, Bradley was competing at the highest level over the past eight months.
Cink would’ve been a far better choice as Ryder Cup captain and the fact that Bradley got the job without even having to go through the interview process leaves a really bitter taste in the mouth.
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