Tiger Woods has proved himself valuable to Team USA for the Ryder Cup despite his rejection of their captaincy role thanks to conversations held with Keegan Bradley
Tiger Woods has still contributed to Team USA ahead of the Ryder Cup, despite rejecting the chance to captain the side.
The 15-time major champion hasn’t participated in the biennial competition since 2018, when he lost all four of his individual matches. Team Europe went on to capture what is one of eight victories for them in the last 11 editions of the Ryder Cup.
Woods was earmarked as a potential captain for Team USA earlier this year as they look to swing the balace of that record. The 49-year-old, however, rejected the chance, admitting his role within the TGL as well as his involvement in PIF negotiations has taken up much of his time.
In February, the sports icon revealed: “I just didn’t feel like I would be doing the captaincy or the players in Team USA justice if I was the captain with everything that I have to do.”
With Woods passing on the opportunity to captain his nation, it was Keegan Bradley who was then chosen, and it was late last month that the 39-year-old confirmed his player selections for Bethpage Black later this month.
Bradley said he was left surprised by his selection as captain before admitting he had talked to Woods about the decision as he said: “I don’t think I’ll ever be more surprised by anything in my entire life. I had no idea. It took a while for it to sink in.
“I’ve spoken to Tiger a bunch. I spoke to him this morning on the phone. He’s been very helpful. Tiger has always been really helpful to me. He’s a great voice to hear and he’s been nothing but — he’s been reaching out to me helping me, which has been amazing.”
Before Bradley had confirmed his picks for Team USA, speculation was strife on whether he’d select himself and become the first playing captain at the Ryder Cup since Arnold Palmer.
Amid his deliberation, Golf Channel’s Ryan Lavner said on the Sky Sports Golf Podcast that he consulted Woods, who has personal experience of the situation, given he was the first playing captain in Presidents Cup history back in 2019.
Laver said: “He certainly has sought the advice of Tiger Woods, who keep in mind was a playing captain in 2019 [at the] Presidents Cup. I think the onus is going to be on Keegan Bradley.
“He can rely heavily on Jim Furyk, a guy who’s been there and done that, he can rely heavily on Brandt Snedeker, who was part of the back-room staff last year at the Presidents Cup.”
Woods was wholly successful in his dual-role as he won all three matches he played at the tournament, leading the U.S. to victory. Bradley’s team consists of automatic picks Scottie Scheffler, J.J. Spaun, Xander Schauffele, Russell Henley, Harris English and Bryson DeChambeau.
The remaining six captain’s picks were confirmed to be Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa, Ben Griffin, Cameron Young, Patrick Cantlay and Sam Burns.
