Woods deadline to accept US Ryder Cup captaincy
Tiger Woods has been set a deadline for the end of this month to declare if he wants to be the next United States Ryder Cup captain, with the 15-time major winner acknowledging that he will reach a decision after this week’s Masters.
With the match 17 months away, Woods has kept the PGA of America waiting to see if he will lead his country against Luke Donald’s Europeans in New York.
It is no secret that the 48-yearold has been offered the job and it shows that the organisation that oversees the US arm of the Ryder Cup is desperate to have him on board by leaving it later than ever to declare their leader.
Woods announced late last year that his primary focus was, as a player-director on the PGA Tour policy board, on assisting in negotiations to strike a peace deal with the
Saudi Public Investment Fund, and that the Ryder Cup issue would have to wait.
However, it is understood that now Woods has met with Yasir Alrumayyan, the PIF governor and chairman of LIV Golf, the PGA of America has demanded an answer. Here at Augusta in the build-up for the 88th Masters, Woods recognised it would soon be time for him to declare his intentions.
“It’s something that Seth [Waugh, the PGA of America’s chief executive] and I are going to talk about after this event,” he said. “I said let me focus on getting through this week and hopefully getting another [Green] Jacket.”
Stewart Cink, the 50-year-old who beat Tom Watson in the 2009 Open play-off, is standing by if
Woods elects to bide his time until 2027. Paul Mcginley, the 2014 winning captain who sits on the Ryder Cup Europe board, is just one who thinks Woods might be better off delaying until 2027 at Adare Manor, the Limerick venue owned by Woods’s close friend, JP Mcmanus.
“Tiger has been consumed by all the stuff with the policy board and also with his game as he tries to relaunch his career,” Mcginley told Telegraph Sport. “Maybe it makes sense to skip and do it at Adare.”
However, there is also the chance that, like Donald, Woods could stay on for a two-match reign, providing that Europe do not win for the first time on away soil in 13 years.
Donald, the Europe captain, has played it cool in public, suggesting that his plans are largely unaffected
by the wait to discover his counterpart. Yet insiders insist there is an urgency to get round the table.
The overwhelming issue is how the respective teams treat the LIV problem and if the rebels are eligible for the showdown at Bethpage Black. In Rome last October, Zach Johnson was allowed to pick LIV players – and he selected USPGA champion Brooks Koepka – but the likes of Sergio Garcia and Paul Casey were off limits to Donald.
“We want it to be a level playing field this time around, and for there to be a selection agreement between the two captains and teams,” a source said.
Woods will still believe there is a chance he can play in another Ryder Cup. Since withdrawing after seven holes of the third round in last year’s Masters, he has completed only one round in official competition – at the Genesis Invitational two months ago, where he was again forced to withdraw.
Because of the car crash three years ago, during which he was lucky not to lose his right leg, Woods has not completed four rounds in a tournament since the 2022 Masters.
“If everything comes together, I think I can get one more [Green Jacket],” Woods said. He also pledged to meet his stated aim of playing competitively once a month, which is good news for Troon, which hosts the Open in July. “It hasn’t worked out that way yet, but now we have major championships every month,” he said.
Woods played nine holes yesterday with Fred Couples, the 1992 champion, who believes Woods is thinking higher than simply making his 24th Masters cut in succession and so beating the record held by Couples and Gary Player.
“Can he win here? You know what, yes. I just watched him play nine holes and he never mishit a shot,” Couples said. “But the idea of just making a cut – I think he would laugh at that. That’s a huge record, but he’s here to win. His ankle is bad. We know it. But he’s going to walk 72 holes and if he keeps playing like that, he’ll be a factor.”
Woods’s challenge could be complicated by the fact that there may be a marathon Friday and possible Saturday morning, to catch up. Thunderstorms are forecast for tomorrow’s first round.