Tiger Woods has turned down the US Ryder Cup captaincy for next year’s tournament at Bethpage Black, according to a report.
It was revealed Monday morning that the PGA of America would announce the captain of Team USA for the 2025 Ryder Cup at noon ET on Tuesday, leading many fans to cling to hope that the 15-time major winner had finally accepted the job.
However, his hopes were quickly dashed when the 48-year-old turned down the chance to lead the Americans into next year’s clash with Europe in New York, according to The Telegraph.
Woods is believed to have been willing to accept the role if the PGA of America reduced standard captaincy commitments ahead of the tournament.
However, the golf legend, who previously captained the U.S. team at the 2019 Presidents Cup, and the organization apparently failed to reach an agreement.
Tiger Woods has turned down a role as captain of the US Ryder Cup for next year’s tournament
His European counterparts confirmed in December that Luke Donald would return to his post after leading Rory McIlroy and company to a 16.5-11.5 victory in Rome last year.
And with just over a year to go until the United States takes on Europe once again, the PGA of America has reportedly decided to look elsewhere.
Fred Couples, Stewart Cink and Davis Love III are believed to be in the running to succeed Zach Johnson.
Woods had already cast doubt on his willingness to take the job in May, citing his involvement in golf’s slow-moving merger negotiations as a barrier to being able to commit to next year’s clash with Europe in New York.
He has been front and center in the protracted merger negotiations between the PGA Tour and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, and was cautious about adding Ryder Cup captaincy duties to his load when asked before the PGA Championship in May.
“I’m putting so much time into what we’re doing with the PGA Tour that I don’t want to step away from being a captain if I can’t do it,” Woods said at Valhalla.
“Everything that entails, representing Team USA and the commitments to the PGA of America, the players and the fans, I need to feel like I can give it the time it deserves.”
US PGA chief executive Seth Waugh said at the time that the committee respected Woods’ dedication to his commitments when discussing extensive conversations with the golf icon.
Woods is believed to have been willing to accept if captaincy commitments were reduced.
Europe confirmed in December that Luke Donald would return for a second term.
“We’ve been having conversations for months,” Waugh said before the PGA Championship.
‘We’ve also had conversations within the Ryder Cup committee, multiple conversations about potential captains and a list of potential captains. You know, Tiger has been pretty clear.
‘I think we all know he can be quite focused, and that’s one of his many superpowers: that ability to act with precision and decide.
“And he doesn’t do anything that he’s not fully committed to, and we fully respect that. And he’s got a lot going on right now. He’s very active, obviously, on the PGA Tour (in negotiations with the LIV circuit’s Saudi sponsors).”
2009 Open champion Cink is said to be the favourite, but with the match-up set to take place in front of an infamously rowdy New York crowd, the PGA of America may opt for a bigger name to live up to expectations.
Couples has captained three U.S. Presidents Cup-winning teams and has been a Ryder Cup vice-captain three times, but has yet to captain a Ryder Cup team.
Meanwhile, Love III has the most recent experience of the trio of contenders, having led the United States to a triumph over Trevor Immelman’s International team in the 2022 Presidents Cup at Quail Hollow.
Phil Mickelson might have been considered a strong contender for the captaincy at Bethpage Black, where he has been adored by New York crowds and has advocated for the Ryder Cup.
2009 Open champion Stewart Cink is said to be the favorite to captain the U.S.
Fred Couples (left) and Davis Love III (right) are also believed to be contenders for the role.
But he himself admitted that he had no chance of leading the Americans into battle against the Europeans after his defection to LIV Golf in 2022.
Woods led the U.S. to victory during the 2019 Presidents Cup, as captain and its best player, after having used a captain’s pick on himself.
He has played in eight Ryder Cups, competing in 37 matches and finishing with a career record of 13 wins, 21 losses and three halves.
He has also served in leadership roles before, having been an assistant captain at Hazeltine in 2016.
While he has not been present at the last two Ryder Cups at Whistling Straits and Marco Simone, Woods has still played a key role within Team USA behind the scenes.
Woods, a man who bleeds red, white and blue, has 15 majors to his name and a wealth of Ryder Cup experience, is someone any American would want in their corner, something Johnson gladly embraced last year.
The 15-time major winner led the U.S. to victory during the 2019 Presidents Cup
Before last year’s loss in Rome, Johnson revealed that Woods would be on hand to offer his sage advice if Team USA needed his expertise.
“He’s a great asset,” Johnson said of Woods. “He’s very committed to Team USA, very committed to the way we run Team USA year in and year out because the guy is patriotic, he wants to win, he’s experienced and, amazingly, he’s the best player in any decade. Fortunately, he’s an American. He’s red, white and blue, head to toe.
‘Personally, I can show you the text messages that he and I have received… a lot of them are of great support, conviction and faith. I was able to sit alongside him as vice-captain during his captaincy in Australia, and the man knows what he’s talking about… he’s amazing and will continue to be a part of Team USA going forward. He won’t be in Rome, which is fine, it’s probably not a smart decision, it was kind of his decision, but he’s a great advisor.’
He was also absent from the 19-9 massacre of the United States at the 2021 tournament at Whistling Straits, but still managed to unleash one of the most stirring rallying cries.
Woods became the ultimate motivator, texting his countrymen to encourage them to achieve a dominant victory from the comfort of his couch.
Zach Johnson said before last year’s Ryder Cup that he would seek advice from Woods.
One of the messages contained a particularly violent mental image to inspire his countrymen. With the United States already having established a sizeable 11-5 lead over Europe heading into Sunday’s singles matches, Woods texted captain Steve Stricker: “Now step on their necks.”
Woods continued as a couch captain in 2022 during the Presidents Cup, where he acted as the extra set of eyes for Love III.
Again absent from Quail Hollow, Woods regularly called on the American captain for advice.
“He talked to a lot of people on the team,” Love said at the time. “I was standing there on the sixth tee for about an hour, a long time, so I called him and we talked for a while. And I said, well, at least you’re watching it on TV. Call us if you see anything.”
