All eyes are on Tiger Woods following the 2025 Ryder Cup to see whether he will decide to take on the captaincy at Adare Manor in two years.
Team USA will head to Ireland in 2027 looking for their first away victory in the Ryder Cup in more than three decades. They will also be hoping to avenge the defeat that they suffered at Bethpage Black last month.
And it appears that there is a chance that Tiger Woods will lead Team USA at Adare Manor.
It definitely does appear that the PGA of America does need to produce something special after two really disappointing performances in a row.
The PGA of America did not heed the Ryder Cup warning from Tiger Woods
Zach Johnson is unlikely to be remembered as a particularly good captain. Meanwhile, Keegan Bradley hardly fared any better until his side produced a stunning fightback on Sunday in New York.
Bradley was put in a difficult position. Woods turned down the captaincy, before the PGA of America turned to him in a truly shocking move. The 39-year-old had not been on a Ryder Cup team since 2014, and had been snubbed by Johnson when he really should have been on the team nine years later.
And their decision to appoint Bradley becomes all the more baffling when you consider the reason Woods decided against taking on the role at Bethpage.
In 2024, Woods played in all four major championships. Meanwhile, he was involved in discussions between the PGA Tour and the PIF regarding a potential merger. But he was not playing a full-time schedule, by any means.
Nevertheless, the 15-time major champion simply felt that he had too much on his plate to do the Ryder Cup job justice.
“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,” he 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.”
How many PGA Tour events Keegan Bradley played in 2023 before being appointed Ryder Cup captain the following year
Of course, the PGA of America were probably hopeful Woods would take on the role. They may not have had many contingency plans in place if the 49-year-old turned them down.
However, reacting to Woods’ decision by then asking someone who was playing some of the best golf of his career makes no sense at all.
Woods obviously had plenty on his plate. But Bradley played in 22 events in 2023. When you factor in all the practicing he would have done, it is hard to know what the PGA of America expected him to do.
When Bradley got the job, he could not take his foot off the pedal either. Immediately, there was talk of the 2011 PGA Championship winner becoming the Ryder Cup’s first playing captain since Arnold Palmer.
In truth, Bradley would have probably made any other captain’s team for Bethpage. That is how well he played in 2025.
The PGA of America has come in for a lot of criticism following last month’s Ryder Cup. When you consider Tiger Woods’ reason for rejecting the captaincy again, you have to say that they set themselves up for failure almost from the outset.
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