While Tiger Woods’ days of competing for Major titles look to be a thing of the past, judged on his last-place finish at the Masters of those that made the cut, the 48-year-old looks destined to play an important role off the course next year after he confirmed last week that he is talks to take on the job of US Ryder Cup captain for the next two matches.
It has always been assumed Woods would lead Team USA at Adare Manor in Ireland in 2027, however, the PGA of America has also given the 15-time major champion the opportunity to take the captaincy at Bethpage in New York next year as well.
Speaking ahead of his appearance at Augusta, Woods gave the clearest indication yet that he will soon be announced as the US captain.
“We’re still talking about it,” Woods said. “It’s something that Seth Waugh [the PGA of America’s chief executive] and I are going to talk about after the Masters. I said I’m going to be busy for a couple weeks, and then we can sit back and talk about it next week.”
After Zach Johnson’s widely criticised performance as US Ryder Cup captain in Rome last year, the PGA of America will be keen to sign up Woods for the role. Phil Mickelson would have been the obviously choice for 2025 in New York, but he is no longer eligible following his move to LIV Golf in 2022.
ADARE CONNECTION
Woods has a strong connection to 2027 host venue Adare Manor through a close friendship with the Irish resort’s owner, JP McManus. He has been a regular competitor in the JP McManus Invitational, a Pro-Am charity event which is held at the venue.
Earlier this year Woods said he was hoping to play at least one tournament a month this season, but he failed to play March’s Player’s Championship, and looked to be in considerable pain for the final two rounds of the Masters, where he shot 82 – his worst ever round at Augusta – and 77 to finish in 60th place and 27 shots behind winner Scottie Scheffler.
“I wasn’t ready to play,” he said of his no-show at The Players. “My body wasn’t ready. My game wasn’t ready. It hasn’t worked out that way but now we have major championships every month from here through July. So now the once a month hopefully kicks in.”