‘I’d Love To Do It’ - Dustin Johnson Keen On US Ryder Cup Captaincy

When you speak to a player of Dustin Johnson's stature, there will always be an allotted time. Fifteen minutes is pretty much the norm, which, more often than not, will get rounded down to 10 when things begin to over-run.

With the 39-year-old things did over-run but in a good way. He posed for photography, discussed the ups and downs of his career and chatted about the past 18 months of playing on the LIV Golf League.

There's a lot to like about Johnson but you would rarely describe him as animated. You know that he will flat-bat most questions away, a strategy that has served him well as he's managed, for the most part, to keep his head down, just the way he likes it.

My last question was almost a throwaway one about having an interest in the Ryder Cup captaincy. I got a response I wasn't expecting.

"Yeah, I’d love to do it. I love the Ryder Cup and love being a part of it and that would be something that I would be up for if they want me to do it."

For whatever reason Johnson's name rarely comes up when we discuss who might be in line as a future US Ryder Cup captain. Ten years down the line they will be spoilt for choice as the likes of Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas approach somewhere close to the end of their careers – but the interim period is a different picture.

At Whistling Straits in 2021, where Johnson waltzed to a perfect 5-0-0 record, he was the oldest American player by five years. Next on the list was Harris English.

We can easily trot out a handful of candidates for the European role, even in the post-LIV era, but we quickly begin stumbling over the American options.

Tiger Woods is the most obvious, Phil Mickelson seemed a certainty for Bethpage in 2025 up until last June and then we're into a vortex of those who were in Rome. There Steve Stricker, Davis Love III, Jim Furyk, Fred Couples and Stewart Cink were all in Italy to assist Zach Johnson and, of those, only Couples and Cink are yet to have been the skipper.

Couples' ship looks to have sailed years ago which leaves Cink who might be an option if Woods isn't interested in New York in 2025.

What we did learn from the chat with Johnson is that he's not quite the laid-back character that we've all enjoyed watching for the past 15 years.

"I don’t think people would realise how meticulous that he is. He’s very organised which you maybe wouldn’t think about him; the headcovers all have to match the bag, at the US Open they had a really funky and colourful bag but one of his headcovers didn’t match it and he could never use that. So they had to go and find a different one," explained his long-term coach Claude Harmon.

"He’s very organised, if we’ve got a car he will keep the bag, towels, balls, shoes in specific places. Because he’s so nonchalant you wouldn’t think that he’s borderline OCD about the way that he looks. If he gets a stain on his shirt then we’re calling somebody to go and get another one."

Since last June Johnson has been the team captain of Aces GC. Last year they ran away with the team title and they currently lead the way this year. It would be a pretty far stretch to suggest that being a team captain on LIV would be some sort of preparation for a Ryder Cup role but there is some sort of leadership in place.

"I've got a good group of guys so I really don’t have to do much, they all work hard and are good team guys. We’ll have some dinners but I won’t be telling them how to play the course, they’re all good players. If they need, then I’m definitely here and will do anything that I can."

The biggest question, and one that seems to have gone temporarily away in recent times, is how the world of professional golf will mend itself. We know more than ever that a year is a very long time and that things can quickly change.

A year ago it would have seemed unlikely that anyone from the world of LIV Golf would ever lead a Ryder Cup team, now that is less so. For whatever reason it seems harder to picture Johnson as an away captain so Hazeltine in 2029 might be on his radar.

By which time Johnson will be 45, the same age as Luke Donald this year in Rome.