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Tiger Woods Is The Talk of Golf World Amid 2025 Ryder Cup

Originally posted on Athlon Sports
By Kevin Matthew Borba | Last updated Sep 26, 2025 1:47 PM ET

The 45th Ryder Cup is being played from Sept. 26-28, and is taking place in Farmingdale, New York, at Bethpage Black. The event features two teams of 12, as the best golfers from the United States take on the 12 best from Europe.

Captained by Keegan Bradley, who isn't playing, the United States team features notable players such as World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler and World No. 4 Xander Schauffele. As for the European team, which Luke Donald captains, the more prominent names featured are world No. 2 Rory McIlroy and World No. 7 Tommy Fleetwood.

With the European squad taking a 3-1 lead on Friday, as the United States' lone point came from Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay, 15-time Major champion Tiger Woods was a popular topic on social media.

Many felt that the eight-time Ryder Cup participant and one-time winner (1999) should have been the captain, as they felt he would have put together a better team.

"Tiger Woods should be Captain of the USA Ryder Cup team until the day he kicks the bucket. Keegan Bradley?! FOH," wrote one fan.

"Tiger Woods needs to be the Captain of the United States Ryder Cup team for the remainder of his life. USA needs someone who will send out the best players no matter of feelings or see what players got," said another.

"For the next decade, Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson should be co-captains of the American Ryder Cup Team. These matchups were atrocious. Last Ryder Cup we had a horribly selected team. We are losing because of our captains, not our quality of players," chimed in one fan.

"Just make Tiger Woods the permanent Ryder Cup captain. Problem solved," commented another.

Although Woods is garnering a push for being the captain, he himself struggled in this event, posting a 13-21-3 record.

The 49-year-old golf legend may be a popular pick for captain, but he released a statement last July explaining why it didn't make sense for him to take on that role this time around.

Why Tiger Woods isn't the Ryder Cup captain

Woods revealed at the time that due to his role in attempting to patch the issues between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf as a part of the PGA Tour Policy Board and PGA Tour Enterprises Board of Directors, it wasn't the right time for him.

"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. "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."

Will Tiger Woods be a Ryder Cup captain?

In his statement, he made it clear that the time had to be right. So, when the 2027 Ryder Cup in Ireland rolls around, his schedule could be cleared up. If he wants to wait for the next Ryder Cup, that is in America, that would place him as captain in 2029.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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