The Ryder Cup won by Europe has been one of the highlights of 2025 in world golf, but its protagonists are slowly returning to the courses. The final stretch of the DP World Tour season is the main event pending.
Playing the week after the Ryder Cup at the Alfred Dunhill were Robert MacIntyre (champion), Tyrrell Hatton (second), and Matthew Fitzpatrick and Tommy Fleetwood (twenty-first). This past weekend, champions Jon Rahm (ninth) and Shane Lowry (cut) made the return appearance at the Spanish Open. Justin Rose, Sepp Straka, Ludvig Aberg, and Rasmus Hojgaard are still missing.
This week, other champions will return. This is the case with Rory McIlroy and Viktor Hovland, in a tournament where Lowry and Fleetwood are back in the spotlight. European captain Luke Donald will also be playing. Ben Griffin, a member of the US Ryder Cup team, will also be present.
McIlroy, statements
Along with all of them, a good roster of Spaniards. The Spanish Open sensation Ángel Ayora, Ángel Hidalgo, who ended his title defense without making the cut, Rafa Cabrera, Nacho Elvira, Adri Arnaus, Eugenio López-Chacarra, Pablo Larrazábal, Jorge Campillo, Alfredo García-Heredia, Manuel Elvira, Joel Moscatel, Sebastián García, Borja Virto, and Santiago Tarrío, in addition to Adrián Otaegui, are the Spanish players entered in the tournament. Recent Spanish Open champion Marco Penge will not be participating.
The global field is led by McIlroy, who spoke before the tournament of his desire to be Ryder Cup captain. Not in 2027, however, but in the long term. "I want to play, but I would like to be a European captain at some point, when my time on the course is up or when my time is approaching and I'm not good enough to make the team," the Northern Irishman said. "I hope that doesn't happen in 2027," he stated.
In fact, McIlroy was full of praise for Donald Trump and even suggested a date. "The time, effort, and dedication he's put in over the last four years has been incredible. He's revolutionized captaincy," he said of the current captain. "He has 100 percent respect from the entire team, and everyone has worked for him. If I could ever be close to his level of captaincy, I would have done a great job," Rory said. "But going forward, I'd say not before the mid-2030s," he stated as a date.
McIlroy wanted to put an end to the controversies surrounding the Ryder Cup. "It would be unfair for people to remember the tournament for the wrong reason. The focus should be on how well Europe did, and I'm very proud to have been part of this team that won the Ryder Cup away from home."
