Tiger Woods has reportedly turned down the opportunity to become Team USA captain at next year’s Ryder Cup.
The 15-time major champion had been strongly touted as the man to succeed Zach Johnson as Team USA’s next captain after they were thrashed in Rome last year.
Team Europe have long confirmed their captaincy line-up with Luke Donald returning along with Thomas Bjorn.
Woods is seen the natural selection to take the US captaincy in 2027 due to his close friendship with Adare Manor resort owner, JP McManus.
Tiger Woods won’t be the next USA captain
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But there was a growing suggestion that he would make his Ryder Cup captaincy debut on home soil at Bethpage Black.
Woods won the 2002 US Open on the New York golf course and confirmed at the Masters this year that he was going to sit down with PGA of America chief executive Seth Waugh.
Those talks have been ongoing since with reports indicating Woods wanted the usual captaincy commitments to be reduced.
But it’s not being reported that Woods has turned down the chance to captain his country at next year’s Ryder Cup with negotiations breaking down.
According to the Telegraph, Woods expressed some concern over the working schedule required for a captain while he continues to broker peace talks between LIV Golf and the PGA.
But it appears as though the PGA of America were not willing to budge on those requirements with Woods not out of the running.
It’s said that Fred Couples, Stewart Cink and Davis Love III are the new frontrunners to be named the next USA captain.
The report claims that Cink is the ‘most obvious alternative’ with an announcement coming on Tuesday.
Tiger Woods last played in the Ryder Cup in 2018
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The last five Ryder Cups have been won comprehensively by the host team with Team Europe thrashing the United States last year.
Europe haven’t won on American soil since their infamous ‘Miracle of Medinah’ back in 2012.
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Stewart Cink is one of three alternative options
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The only other Ryder Cup to be held on a New York course was back in 1995 when Europe won a nail-biting contest at Oak Hill.
Both sets of captains will have decisions to make next year as to whether they take any LIV golfers with them.
Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton were key parts of Europe’s win over the USA last year, but have since jumped ship to LIV Golf.
Source Agencies
