Tiger Woods will begin fresh discussions about captaining the United States at the Ryder Cup in the coming weeks, with the body responsible for recruiting Zach Johnson’s successor pledging to give the 15-time major champion more time to make your decision.
Woods cast doubt on his willingness to accept the role earlier this week, citing his involvement in golf’s slow merger negotiations as an obstacle to his ability to commit to next year’s clash with Europe At New York.
With Luke Donald’s reappointment in November, the Americans already appear to be losing ground on their rivals, but PGA of America CEO Seth Waugh insisted Woods would not rush into a decision.
Waugh said: “We had conversations for months. We have also had conversations within the Ryder Cup committee, multiple conversations about potential captains and a list of potential captains. You know, Tiger, made that pretty clear.
“I think we all know he can be quite focused, and that’s one of his many superpowers – that ability to dig tunnels and decide.
Tiger Woods is reluctant to take on the role of US Ryder Cup captain for the 2025 tournament in New York.
Despite his health problems, Woods participated in the PGA Championship in Kentucky.
And he doesn’t do anything without being fully engaged, and we totally respect that. And he has a lot on his plate right now. He is obviously very active on the PGA Tour side (in their negotiations with the Saudi lessors of the LIV circuit).
“We want to give him and the committee the space to decide how this will play out. You know, everyone kind of has a timeline for this, and I realize it’s a news day and you want news, but we picked the captains later. We chose the captains earlier.
“Luke Donald was appointed a year ago (before Europe’s crushing victory in Rome in 2023) and they had a pretty good performance, for example.
“We think we have a lot of time and setting an artificial date is not something we need to do. We’ve continued the conversations. Obviously I want to respect the fact that he’s playing in a major tournament (at the U.S. Championship). PGA this week), and we will re-engage in the next week or so.
Meanwhile, Waugh has joined the chorus of those who want to see the warring factions reunited at a time when progress on the merger deal appears to have stalled.
Highlighting the “damage” caused by hostilities between LIV and the PGA Tour, Waugh said: “I’m a very optimistic guy and I kind of hope that it’s darkest before the dawn, if you will, but I think the best thing for the game is a deal. And we’ve been very consistent on that front.
“I don’t think the game is big enough for two tours like that and I think we’re diluting the game in a way that’s not healthy. We’ve really said that from the beginning. I hope that there is an agreement.
Woods cited his involvement in golf’s slow merger negotiations as an obstacle to the captaincy.
“I think both sides are not only committed to trying to get a deal done, but they really need one, and in my history of negotiating deals, when both sides need something to happen, it This is generally the case.”
“I don’t know the timing. I don’t have any inside information that you all don’t have. But I hope there will be an agreement over time. And what I would say, I hope there is urgency because I think it harms the Tour, the game.
“I hope it’s short-term damage, as opposed to permanent damage, and so I hope there’s some urgency in the timeline because I just don’t think it’s a healthy situation at the moment.”