Tiger Woods has ruled himself out of captaining the US Ryder Cup team amid the ongoing crisis brought on by his car crash and arrest last week.
The PGA of America confirmed Woods’s position in a statement on Wednesday.
While it was by no means certain that he would accept the post for the match at Adare Manor next year, it is nonetheless a huge blow to the Americans, who for the second Cup in succession have unsuccessful in their overtures to Woods.
However, the circumstances of Woods’s latest crash and the subsequent police charges, including driving under the influence, had made this development seem inevitable, especially once the 15-time major announced on Tuesday that he would be stepping away from the game indefinitely for ‘treatment’.
The PGA of America said they stand ‘in full support of Tiger Woods as he steps away to focus on his health and well-being’.
Their statement added: ‘We are keeping Tiger in our thoughts and prayers, with sincere hope for his strength, comfort and recovery. Tiger has meant to much to our Association and to the game of golf. Since his Ryder Cup debut in 1997, he has been an enduring part of the PGA of America family.
Tiger Woods has withdrawn his candidacy to be captain of the USA Ryder Cup team in 2027
Woods is taking time away from the game after last week’s car crash in Florida
Woods, 50, was arrested for DUI after the incident last week – he has pleaded not guilty
‘His connection to our PGA of America Golf Professionals, and his lasting impact on the sport, have inspired generations and profoundly shaped the game.
‘We commend Tiger for prioritising his long-term health and deeply respect the courage it takes to make such a personal decision. Tiger has shared with us that he will not serve as captain of the 2027 Ryder Cup team and we support his decision. The PGA of America will share further updates regarding the Ryder Cup captaincy when appropriate.’
For the US, Woods’s withdrawal from the scene leaves a massive headache. Stewart Cink, Justin Leonard and maligned captain from 2025, Keegan Bradley, are all considered possibilities to step in.
Although none would have Woods’s box office clout, and indeed the same fawning adulation of the players, they would also lack the baggage.
There might even be a degree of relief among the US powerbrokers after the saga of the last Cup, when the job was Woods’s to reject and he led them so far down the garden path before declining that Bardley was only appointed 14 months prior to the contest at Bethpage Black.
With Luke Donald already installed for a third term by the Europeans, the defending champions have stolen an early march on preparations. Indeed, Daily Mail Sport understands Donald and his assistant Edoardo Molinari have already lined up a site visit to Adare Manor this month.
Doubtless the absence of the 50-year-old will steal some gloss from the next showdown, not least for the venue’s billionaire owner JP McManus – it has long been rumoured that he had a gentleman’s agreement with his friend to be centre stage as a captain.
That is now in tatters, though Woods’s priorities will plainly be elsewhere. For one, he has requested a jury trial to challenge the DUI charge that accompanied his accident in Florida, with police claiming they discovered opioids in his pocket and evidence of ‘impairment’ after he collided with a truck and rolled his Land Rover.
Woods is driven home from jail after being bailed out by a friend late on Friday night
Woods is in a relationship with Vanessa Trump, the ex-wife of Donald Trump Jr.
It has so far been notable that many of golf’s prime organisations – the PGA of America included – have refused to criticize Woods, despite the charges around his fourth significant car crash.
It followed the 2009 collision with a fire hydrant that fed into his infidelity scandal and his 2017 arrest after being found slumped over his steering wheel. A toxicology report found five different substances in his system, mostly linked to painkillers and sleep aids. A more serious crash in 2021 almost cost him his right leg.
Breaking ranks somewhat, the former European Ryder Cup captain Paul McGinley, a respected analyst for Sky Sports, warned on Wednesday that golf is ‘running out of patience’ with Woods’s off-course behaviour.
He said: ‘I think a lot of people are running out of patience now. He realizes the seriousness of the situation, as he said yesterday, and I think it’s a line in the sand.’
McGinley, who added the caveat that ‘you’ve got to have a sensitivity to somebody who may have a serious problem going on behind the scenes’, continued: ‘I think he’s been more criticised in the last week than he has been than ever before in any kind of a scandal that he’s been involved in.
‘I think everybody realises this at the end of the road, this is the last chance saloon and he’s very fortunate that he’s not in bigger trouble than he seems to be.’
