Tiger Woods turns down potential 2025 Ryder Cup captaincy amid injuries and poor run of form- Reports
Tiger Woods was expected to be one of the front runners for the 2025 Ryder Cup team USA captaincy, but recent reports claim that he has rejected the role. The announcement is expected to be made soon by the PGA of America.
According to the Telegraph, Tiger Woods was in talks with Seth Waugh, the CEO of the PGA of America, regarding the role of captain for the biennial tournament. However, he has reportedly denied the prospective role, just days ahead of the announcement.
Tiger Woods has been struggling with his form of late and has successfully only participated in the Major championships that have happened so far. The 15-time Major champion finished T60 at the Masters and failed to make the cut at the PGA Championship and the US Open.
Woods participated in only one other tournament apart from the Majors, the Genesis Invitational. However, he withdrew during the second round of the event citing ill health. As reported by the Telegraph, Woods was ready to accept captaincy on the condition that the PGA of America would reduce the responsibilities of the role in the run-up to the 2025 edition.
The 2025 Ryder Cup will be held on US soil this year, at Bethpage Black. The European team will look to defend their title after taking victory in Rome last year under the captaincy of Luke Donald.
"I don’t want to not fulfill the role of the captaincy if I can’t do it"- Tiger Woods gives insights into potentially accepting the role of captain for the 2025 Ryder Cup
Earlier this year, Tiger Woods spoke about his potential involvement in the Ryder Cup's USA team. Speaking at the 2024 Masters, Woods said via NBC:
“We’re still talking. There’s nothing that has been confirmed yet. We’re still working on what that might look like."
Alongside playing professional golf, Woods is also a part of the PGA Tour policy board. He is said to be one of the only golfers who is a part of the Saudi Arabian PIF and PGA Tour negotiations. The merger agreement is a time-consuming task, and also one of great importance.
Woods also said that he would not like to compromise his current priorities to take on the role of captaincy.
“I’m dedicating so much time to what we’re doing with the PGA Tour, I don’t want to not fulfill the role of the captaincy if I can’t do it. What that all entails and representing Team USA and the commitments to the PGA of America, the players, and the fans and as I said, all of Team USA. I need to feel that I can give the amount of time that it deserves.”
Zach Johnson was the captain of Team USA for the 2023 Ryder Cup.