Why Tiger Woods turned down the U.S. Ryder Cup captaincy

Ask anybody over the previous 9 months, and they’d have instructed you Tiger Woods was likely to be the U.S. captain at the 2025 Ryder Cup.

At the same time as Woods publicly dodged questions about taking over one of the high-profile jobs in golf, followers, analysts, and different professionals alike all assumed Woods could be main the pink, white and blue at Bethpage Black.

That’s till Monday when rumors started circulating that Woods had turned the job down. Then it grew to become official that afternoon with the PGA’s surprise announcement that Keegan Bradley had been named captain of the U.S. squad for 2025.

“I don’t assume I’ll ever be extra shocked of something in my whole life. I used to be, I had no concept. It took awhile for it to sink in,” Bradley stated in a press convention asserting his choice on Tuesday in New York Metropolis. “I’ve spoken to Tiger a bunch. I spoke to him this morning on the cellphone. He’s been very useful. Tiger has all the time been actually useful to me. He’s an amazing voice to listen to and he’s been nothing however — he’s been reaching out to me serving to me, which has been wonderful.”

On the occasion, the PGA of America additionally learn off a press release from Woods explaining why he turned the job down.

“With my new tasks to the [PGA] Tour and time commitments concerned I felt I’d not be capable to commit the time to Staff USA and the gamers required as a captain,” Woods stated. “That doesn’t imply I wouldn’t need to captain a workforce sooner or later. If/once I really feel it’s the proper time, I’ll put my hat within the ring for this committee to resolve.”

The final time Woods was requested about captaining the Ryder Cup workforce was in Might on the PGA Championship, the place he confirmed talks have been ongoing between him and then-PGA of America CEO Seth Waugh. However Waugh stepped down as head of the PGA last month after a six-year run on the helm when his contract was not renewed. Waugh and Woods are identified to be shut allies.

However even at Valhalla, Woods appeared cautious of his prior commitments interfering with a possible captaincy.

“I’m dedicating my a lot time to what we’re doing with the PGA Tour, I don’t need to not fulfill the function of the captaincy if I can’t do it,” Woods stated on the PGA. “What that every one entails and representing Staff USA and the commitments to the PGA of America, the gamers and the followers and as I stated, all of Staff USA.

“I have to really feel that I can provide the period of time that it deserves.”

Woods was appointed to the PGA Tour Policy Board as a participant director in August to assist re-establish player control of the body. Since that point, he’s taken an aggressive function in what ended up being a multi-billion greenback funding by the SSG and the continued negotiations with the Saudi PIF.

Along with his work together with his personal firm, TGR Ventures, which by his TGR Design agency is engaged on not less than 4 programs in the meanwhile, and his want to nonetheless compete in main championships, Woods finally determined including the Ryder Cup captaincy was an excessive amount of for him.

However Bradley additionally wouldn’t rule out Woods serving as a Ryder Cup vice captain at Bethpage Black as properly.

”I’ve instructed him he might be as concerned as he desires to be,” Bradley stated. “We haven’t talked about vice captains, I haven’t talked to vice captains with actually anyone. So we, as gamers, all of us look as much as Tiger and his opinion means lots to us. Being in workforce rooms with Tiger, the general public doesn’t understand how necessary that is to him. It’s all the pieces. He lives and breathes this occasion.

“I feel it exhibits you ways a lot he cares by not, by turning this place down, as a result of he didn’t really feel like he might put in what he wanted to do with all of his tasks with what’s occurring with the Tour. I’ve been grateful — earlier than I accepted this job I wanted to speak to Tiger and I needed to verify I — I needed to listen to from him. We had an amazing dialog. I actually want his enter.”

Jack Hirsh

Golf.com Editor

Jack Hirsh is an assistant editor at GOLF. A Pennsylvania native, Jack is a 2020 graduate of Penn State College, incomes levels in broadcast journalism and political science. He was captain of his highschool golf workforce and not too long ago returned to this system to function head coach. Jack additionally nonetheless *tries* to stay aggressive in native amateurs. Earlier than becoming a member of GOLF, Jack spent two years working at a TV station in Bend, Oregon, primarily as a Multimedia Journalist/reporter, but additionally producing, anchoring and even presenting the climate. He might be reached at [email protected].