Before The Genesis Invitational 2026, Tiger Woods, who is also the host of the mentioned tournament, was part of a press conference. In this interaction with the media, Woods revealed he has been asked to captain Team USA in the 2027 Ryder Cup at Adare Manor in Ireland.
While Woods is yet to decide whether he will take up the offer, a golf insider recently explained that the 15-time Major champion must refuse to captain Team USA in 2027. The golf insider in question is Dan Rapaport. During an episode of Dan on Golf, Rapaport mentioned that with everything going on in Woods’ life, the 2029 Ryder Cup is better suited for him to lead Team USA.
Rapaport said:
“It’s not just showing up the week of, it’s all the media stuff before. And Tiger has a lot on his plate. When you combine going against Luke Donald and that team going for a three-peat, on the road, everything you are doing with the PGA Tour, Charlie’s last year at home, Sun Day Red, you are building, you are trying to make this new PGA Tour schedule, sometimes you just have to say no to things. And Tiger Woods has said no to plenty of things before. Saying no to things I think is a very important part of life.”
He added:
“Give Stewart Cink like a chance, who, you know, he was crushed when he didn’t get the captaincy last time… I think let Stewart Cink do it. And then 2029 at home, when Charlie’s off to college, when the new schedule is finally established, I think that is the better move for Tiger.”
If Tiger Woods accepts the opportunity to captain Team USA at the Ryder Cup 2027, there will indeed be plenty of pressure on him. After all, Team USA failed to win the biennial tournament in Rome in 2023 and then faced an embarrassing defeat at Bethpage Black in 2025. A big name like Woods will be expected to help Team USA rise from the ruins and lead them to glory.
A former US captain once said Tiger Woods is bigger than Ryder Cup captaincy
Before Keegan Bradley became Team USA’s captain at the Ryder Cup 2025, Tiger Woods was offered the same position. However, Woods turned it down, citing his responsibilities on the PGA Tour’s Policy Board. What followed Woods’ refusal was a dismal campaign in which Team USA was humiliated under the leadership of Bradley at Bethpage Black.
After the Americans lost the 2025 Ryder Cup at home, calls for Tiger Woods to take over captaincy in 2027 once again came to light. While a huge section of fans and experts believed that Woods is the right person to lead the USA to Ryder Cup glory following consecutive defeats, ex-US Ryder Cup captain Paul Azinger said Woods is bigger than the biennial tournament’s captaincy.
During an episode of the Straight Facts Homie podcast, Azinger said:
“I don’t know, I think he’d more like to be the commissioner [of the PGA Tour] before the Ryder Cup captain. Tiger’s bigger than Ryder Cup captaincy. I said a couple of years back he should be the permanent captain, all-time captain, because who better? But that’s not right. Other guys deserve to be captain, so I kind of take that back. But I think he has bigger fish to fry. Tiger, he’s involved with this game monetarily now, and maybe he’ll end up running it, who knows?”
While Tiger Woods certainly has the credentials to help Team USA get back on track, Woods’ record in the competition isn’t the best. From 1997 to 2018, Woods competed in a total of eight Ryder Cups and managed to win the tournament only once in 1999.
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