Tiger Woods could have been US Ryder Cup captain despite all of his injury troubles, but can the PGA of America rely on him to stay out of trouble?
Tiger’s latest car crash came just days from when he was mooted to be making his Ryder Cup captaincy decision ahead of next year’s biennial contest at Adare Manor where he has a close relationship with owner JP McManus, but this has all been cast into doubt once again.
When Europe lost the 2021 Ryder Cup to a youthful looking USA side and opted to cast aside the old guard of Ian Poulter, Sergio Garcia, Paul Casey, Henrik Stenson, Lee Westwood etc in doing so they had a catalogue of future Ryder Cup captains. Next year should have been Graeme McDowell’s chance. But since they all joined LIV Golf it appears unlikely that they will all get a chance to captain Europe. The same can be said for Team USA who look set to continue on their Ryder Cup history WITHOUT the stewardship of Tiger or Phil Mickelson.
The pair could have been generational captains for the Stars and Stripes and it would have been a fitting crescendo for their careers. However, both superhuman golfers have been unable to grasp what it means to be a good human and suffer from normal human problems. At some point the PGA of America might have to realise that both players have too many demons, addictions and other vices and move on to other candidates – the sooner the better for Tiger.
Unfortunately Tiger just cannot be relied upon – he had dropped teaser after teaser that he was going to play in the Masters in two weeks before sending the hype train into overdrive with a TGL appearance. Yet we are now faced with another sad chapter of this seemingly unfinished book about his semi-retirement, he hasn’t played competitively since the 2024 Open Championship.
There has been such a clamour for the 15-time major winner to be Ryder Cup captain. Surely there is no other sport that has tried as hard to keep Tiger relevant in the game? He has been as good as retired for five years now yet it is clear that Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler just aren’t quite the full Tiger replacements. God help snooker when Ronnie O’Sullivan steps away from the baize but is golf really in such a perilous position that it is afraid of losing Tiger for good?
Tiger has constantly pushed his Ryder Cup decision further and further out, stating that he needs to weigh up if he can give his full commitment to the role but surely this puts serious doubt into whether he can even commit fully to just looking after himself.
It would be a crying shame if Tiger wasn’t captain in Adare Manor, the link with JP McManus seemed to give the idea some symmetry and it would have added another layer to what is already a seismic sporting event.
Tiger’s former Ryder Cup teammate Bubba Watson felt last week that the 50-year-old would be a great choice for the captaincy.
“He would be a great captain, he is a studier, he knows the history, he knows the game, he knows what to do and what not to do in golf. That doesn’t make me play better or putt better or the other guys on the team. But he can be a voice of reason, a calming voice and everybody is going to listen to him. He would be a great choice, it doesn’t mean he is going to win.”
Speaking last month 2021 Ryder Cup captain Pádraig Harrington said the Adare Manor contest would be much bigger than it already is if he became captain.
“You know what? The obvious answer is, yes. But then the other answer is, we don’t really know. It could be intimidating for [players] or it could be the opposite, he could be inspiring. To be a great captain, you don’t necessarily have to be a great player. But it would be great for the Ryder Cup if he was captain.”
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