Azinger says Tiger Woods not best choice for Team USA Ryder Cup leadership role

Azinger added: “We picked a captain that we took him off the team. We picked a guy in his prime to be the captain, really out of guilt.

“I remember texting Keegan, congratulating him on taking the high road after he did not get picked for Italy. I text him a long time and said, ‘You will be a captain someday, way to take the high road’.”

“I had no idea that he would be captain now. I have been critical of him being the captain. If you are going to pick a guy in his prime, you are going to risk what happened here this week.”

“We are skipping David Toms? He won the PGA. We are skipping Justin Leonard? He won a major. We are skipping Stewart Cink? They are all in their 50s.

Tiger Woods might not be the right fit for the Ryder Cup

One thing the Americans proved at Bethpage Black is that they have no idea how to maximize the potential of their superstar player. While Scheffler dismissed comparisons to Woods before the Ryder Cup, his performance in New York was uncanny.

A loss to Rory McIlroy in Sunday singles would have made him the first-ever player to go 0-5-0 at a Ryder Cup. Instead, he’ll have to settle for being the first player since 1969 to lose his first four matches.

Considering how dominant Scheffler had been throughout 2025, that was hard for anyone to imagine heading into Bethpage Black.

Meanwhile, Woods has an abysmal Ryder Cup record. The 15-time major winner won the tournament only once, and Scheffler is now the only world number one to produce a worse performance at the event since the turn of the millennium.

There’s always been something about Tiger’s presence that makes it tough for those around him. His competitive edge helped define a generation of golf on Tour, but that same intensity didn’t always work in team events like this one.

If Team USA want to mirror Europe’s focus on communication and team chemistry, it’s fair to wonder whether Woods is really suited for that kind of approach.