Late in the victorious American Ryder Cup team’s boozy and boisterous media session Sunday evening, the subject of Steve Stricker returning as captain two years from now in Rome was raised.
Stricker has the distinction of having captained the most lopsided U.S. Presidents Cup victory in 2017 and the biggest American victory in the Ryder Cup since Europe joined the competition in 1979.
“One hundred percent,” Dustin Johnson said endorsing Stricker’s potential 2023 captaincy.
“That’s a yes from us,” Jordan Spieth added. “To be fair, in 2017 it was a very similar position as far as the dominance goes. Strick has a pretty good record.”
Then Stricker tamped down the excitement.
“I don’t think it’s going to happen,” Stricker said. “It’s mapped out and there’s guys in positions to be the next captains.
“It was an unbelievable experience, don’t get me wrong; I’m glad it’s over.”
Which raises the inevitable question:
Who will be the American captain in Rome in 2023?
And the follow-up question: Who will succeed Pádraig Harrington as the European captain charged with beating an American team that looks set for a sustained period of success?
Let’s start with the Americans.
The next captain will almost certainly be Zach Johnson, Phil Mickelson or Tiger Woods. The question is who does the honors when.
Let’s start with Woods, who was unable to attend the Ryder Cup in Wisconsin because of his continuing rehabilitation from the life-threatening injuries he suffered in his February auto accident. There was some conjecture about whether Woods would make a surprise appearance at Whistling Straits but he did not. An encouraging text and a series of calls with Stricker and the vice captains was his contribution this time.
The wild card is Mickelson, who was a vice captain at Whistling Straits. He deflected the attention as best he could in Wisconsin but there’s no doubt he’s going to captain an American team soon.
It seems unlikely Woods, who will turn 46 in December, will have recovered sufficiently to meet the demands of being a captain over the next two years so his time will come later.
The betting favorite is Johnson, a two-time major champion who has done his apprenticeship as a vice captain. He is well respected and would probably operate much like Stricker, minimizing distractions for the players.
Johnson was expected to be the Presidents Cup captain at Quail Hollow next fall but that job went to Davis Love III, who has captained two Ryder Cup teams. If Johnson doesn’t get the Ryder Cup captaincy – it’s likely to be announced later this fall – he may get the next Presidents Cup duty.
The wild card is Mickelson, who was a vice captain at Whistling Straits. He deflected the attention as best he could in Wisconsin but there’s no doubt he’s going to captain an American team soon.
Mickelson will be 53 when the Ryder Cup is played in Rome and he would be a massive presence on the international stage. He may not be willing to make the necessary sacrifices in his competitive schedule considering he won the PGA Championship less than six months ago.
There has also been the understandable notion that Mickelson would be a perfect captain for the American team when the Ryder Cup is played at Bethpage Black in four years. It will be an upset if that’s not the rowdiest Ryder Cup in recent years and Mickelson would fuel the enthusiasm.
But what if Woods prefers captaining a team on American soil? He did win the U.S. Open at Bethpage Black, after all.
The most likely scenario is Johnson will be the captain in Rome, Mickelson gets Bethpage Black in 2025 and Woods goes to Ireland in 2027.
On the European side, there may be more deserving candidates than there are open slots going forward.
The list includes Lee Westwood, Ian Poulter, Graeme McDowell, Sergio García and Luke Donald with Justin Rose, Henrik Stenson and Martin Kaymer as potential captains.
The most likely scenario has Westwood taking the 2023 Ryder Cup, Poulter following him and McDowell at home in Ireland in 2027.
Westwood entertained the notion of being the next European captain when asked after this Ryder Cup, acknowledging he will be 50 then and he has most likely played his last Ryder Cup. It’s something, Westwood said, he intends to think seriously about and it’s hard to imagine him turning it down if it’s offered.
As for Poulter, who intends to make one more run at playing in the Ryder Cup, he could be a brilliant pick for Bethpage in four years where his flamboyance would spark the New York crowd. The possibility of a Mickelson-Poulter combination may be too good for either side to pass up.
That would leave McDowell, a vice captain to Harrington this time, to be the captain at Adare Manor in Ireland. After that, perhaps García will be captain when the Ryder Cup is played at the Olympic Club in 2029.
How much does the captain matter?
The European team revered Paul McGinley in 2014 while the U.S. team never connected with Tom Watson that year. Paul Azinger rewrote the American approach in 2008 just as Thomas Bjørn did for the Europeans in 2018.
Harrington did what he thought was best for his team but his squad was overmatched on the first tee. Stricker captained from a position of strength and did his best to let the players lead themselves.
Whomever is chosen for Rome in 2023, their challenges have already been defined.