Tiger Woods may not be captaining the U.S. team at the 2025 Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black in New York, but he isn’t ruling himself out of taking on the responsibility in the future.
In a statement read by PGA of America Senior Director Julius Mason during Tuesday’s introductory press conference for 2025 U.S. captain Keegan Bradley, Woods said that his commitments with the PGA Tour Policy Board and PGA Tour Enterprises Board of Directors would have prevented him from devoting as much time needed for the job.
“With my new responsibilities to the Tour and time commitments involved, I felt like I would not be able to commit the time to Team USA and the players required as a captain,” Woods said. “That does not mean I wouldn’t want to captain a team in the future. If and when I feel it is the right time, I will put my hat in the ring for this committee to decide.”
Bob Harig of Sports Illustrated reported on Monday that Woods turned down the captaincy, which was decided on by a committee that included three players (2023 captain Zach Johnson, Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas) and three executives from the PGA of America.
Woods was a favorite for the position but said in May his time and focus has been his involvement in the PGA Tour-Saudi Arabia PIF dealings. He could still be involved in the 2025 Ryder Cup should Bradley seek out his experience for use in an advisory role.
Woods was a playing captain for the 2019 Presidents Cup team and served as an assistant at the 2016 Ryder Cup and 2017 Presidents Cup, with all three events ending with U.S. victories.
