For those expecting Tiger Woods to lead the U.S. Ryder Cup team next year in Ireland, Woods delivered surprising news Tuesday in the Bahamas.
“No one’s asked me about it,” Woods said of whether the 2027 captaincy is something he’d like to pursue.
Pressed by a reporter again, Woods repeated the same line, accompanied by a wide smile.
Woods declined an offer to captain the 2025 U.S. squad at Bethpage Black, citing schedule constraints, leading the PGA of America to appoint Keegan Bradley to the position.
“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 via statement in July 2024. “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.”
Bradley was named captain that same month, so the PGA and Woods still have time to decide on Woods’ role for the Sept. 17-19, 2027, matches at Adare Manor. Woods was a vice captain in 2016, though he’s not been officially on a U.S. Ryder Cup team since playing in 2018. He captain the 2019 U.S. Presidents Cup team to victory at Royal Melbourne.
Despite not being directly involved at Bethpage, Woods still communicated with the captains and players before and during their 15-13 defeat on Long Island.
“I watched pretty much all of it and was talking to the players and the captains involved in it, everyone involved on the U.S. side,” Woods said.
If Woods does end up captaining in Ireland, he’ll be looking to lead the Americans to their first away Ryder Cup victory since 1993 at The Belfry.
Europe has yet to announce its captain, though it’s possible that Luke Donald gets a third straight nod after leading his side to wins in 2023 and 2025.