Adare Manor timing may not be perfect but the opportunity might be right for Justin Rose

An Irish Ryder Cup would benefit from an Irish presence in the brains trust. The involvement of Padraig Harrington and Paul McGinley would make sense but it feels like the top job is Justin Rose’s to take.

With no natural successor to Luke Donald as Team Europe Ryder Cup captain waiting in the wings, 2027 at Adare Manor maybe he the time for Justin Rose to step up. Pic: Richard Heathcote/Getty Images

A diamond dew was soaking through Footjoys even though the sun poured down a drying heat. It was 8.30am and the 45th Ryder Cup was just 80 minutes old.

Neither JP McManus nor Dermot Desmond were wearing Footjoys. Shrewd men both, they respectively sported a pair of On Cloud and Adidas golf shoes as they made the trek up the side of the par-5 fourth hole of Bethpage Black. But they weren’t going to chance a damp knee either and as two of Ireland’s richest men crouched down they shared a Ryder Cup kneeling pad, JP down on his left knee, DD on his right. Fittingly, the board was Treaty green and white.