Rory McIlroy has laid down the Ryder Cup gauntlet by insisting the idea of a playing captain cannot work. Team USA’s qualifying race ends this week at the BMW Championship in Chicago, the hours ticking down to Keegan Bradley’s eagerly awaited decision on whether to name himself as one of his team picks.

Maybe Bradley deserves to pick himself to make the U.S. team, but the potential distractions it would cause make the choice to be a playing captain a difficult one that could lead to some nightmare sc