Tiger Woods is now being strongly tipped to take over the USA Ryder Cup captaincy reins in two years time at Bethpage on the outskirts of New York.
As the USA reels from the nightmare of losing out in Rome, Woods’ name is now surfacing as the 2025 replacement for the hapless Zach Johnson.
Johnson’s side promised so much following the Americans record-setting victory two years along the shoreline of Lake Michigan but in the heat of Rome they proved no match for Europe’s band of golfing gladiators in being brutally humbled in the Italian capital.
Not once over the three days was the visiting American side in front as they jetted home to questions as to why the band of golfing superstars played so poorly.
Woods, who’ll be 49 for the 45th Ryder Cup in 2025, played in eight Ryder Cups but remarkably tasted success in just one winning side and that was at the 1999 Battle of Brookline.
He was named by Davis Love III as a vice-captain in the eventual six-point victorious 2016 USA team and two years later Jim Furyk selected Woods as one of his vice-captains for the 2018 Ryder Cup that the USA lost on the outskirts of Versailles in France.
A year later Woods showed off his captaincy skills leading the USA to a two-point win at the 2019 Presidents Cup in Melbourne, Australia.
It has been former 2008 USA Ryder Cup captain Paul Azinger who has been suggesting Woods is being singled out for the Bethpage captaincy role, and the now 63-year-old did so in speaking with the Golf Channel’s Dan Hicks.
Hicks said: “And now the speculation in earnest begins who are going to be the next two captains. I know as far as the United States is concerned, there’s a guy named Eldrick available.”
Azinger replied: “Yeah, I think he might be the next captain. Bethpage Black would be a perfect match-up for he and Sergio Garcia actually.
“Who you never know, two years from now, where we’re going to be”.
Woods is no stranger to victory on the famed Bethpage Park Black course having captured in 2002 a second of three US Open titles.
As well, one of the big advantages of Bethpage Park is the nearness to New York City and home to probably the most boisterous, rambunctious, obnoxious and in your face sports supporters you will find on the planet. They will simply run verbal rings around the fans we saw lining the fairways in Rome.
While the next Ryder Cup is still two years away, an announcement on the next captain will likely be made in the coming months. Johnson was revealed as USA’s captain in February 2022, just five months after the previous Ryder Cup had finished.
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