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Mark Schlabach, ESPN Senior Writer
TRON, Scotland — Tiger Woods said turning down the opportunity to captain the U.S. Ryder Cup team next year was a difficult decision but one he had to make due to numerous other commitments.
Two-time Ryder Cup player Keegan Bradley will captain the U.S. team when it plays the European team at Bethpage Black Course in Farmingdale, New York, from September 26-28, 2025.
“Well, it was a very difficult decision for me to make,” Woods said Tuesday at Royal Troon Golf Club as he prepares for the Open Championship. “My time is so full with the tour and everything and what we’re trying to achieve. I’m on so many different subcommittees that it just takes up so much time in the day, and I’m always in conversation.”
Woods, 48, is vice chairman of the board of directors of PGA Tour Enterprises and a member of its transaction committee, which handles day-to-day negotiations with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund over a potential multibillion-dollar investment. Woods also serves as a player director on the PGA Tour’s policy board.
Woods and Rory McIlroy also front TGL presented by SoFi, a technology-focused golf league that kicks off its inaugural season on January 7.
“I just didn’t feel like I could do the job properly,” Woods said. “I couldn’t dedicate the time to it. I barely had time to do what I’m doing now, and then the TGL starts next year, and the Ryder Cup. When you put all that together, and then with our negotiations with the PIF, and all of that at the same time, you only have so many hours in the day.
“I just didn’t feel like I would do justice to the captaincy and the players of Team USA if I was the captain with everything I have to do.”
Woods said he has not spoken to Bradley about his role as one of his vice-captains.
“I think Keegan is going to be a great leader,” Woods said. “He’s very passionate about what he does. He’s very passionate about the event. I think this is probably going to be a turnover year for us for the captaincies, whether it’s the captain himself or his vice-captains. I think it’s the natural progression, one that we’ve been looking forward to, and I think it’s that year.”
Woods has not ruled out becoming Ryder Cup captain in the future. The 2027 event will be played at the Adare Manor golf course in Ireland, owned by his friend, JP McManus.
It will be Woods’ first tournament at Royal Troon since he finished ninth at the 2004 Open Championship. He missed the 2016 tournament while recovering from a back injury.
Woods will play the first two rounds with PGA Championship winner Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay. They tee off in the first round at 9:37 a.m. ET on Thursday; they begin the second round at 4:25 a.m. ET on Friday.
The 15-time major champion has completed just nine competitive rounds on tour this season, having to withdraw from the Genesis Invitational in February after one round due to illness. At the Masters, he set a tournament record with his 24th consecutive cut, finishing 60th. He missed the cut in his last two starts at the PGA Championship and U.S. Open.
“I’m training a lot better,” Woods said. “We’ve been pretty busy in the gym, which has been good. My body feels better to be able to do things like that, and that translates [to] “I can’t stay on the field as long as I’d like during a training session, but I can do things that I haven’t done all year, and that’s nice.”
When asked how much longer he would continue playing, Woods said, “I’ll keep playing as long as I can, and I feel like I can still win the event.”
Earlier this week, Scottish golfer Colin Montgomerie told The Times of London that it was time for Woods to retire from competitive golf.
“Are we not there? I thought we were past that,” Montgomerie said. “There’s a time for all athletes to say goodbye, but it’s very difficult to tell Tiger it’s time to go. He clearly still feels he can win. We’re more realistic.”
Woods was asked about Montgomerie’s comments on Tuesday. Woods noted that as a three-time winner of the Claret Jug, he is eligible to play in The Open until he is 60. Montgomerie was a five-time runner-up in majors but never won one of the big four.
“Well, as a former champion, I’m exempt until I’m 60,” Woods said. “Colin isn’t. He’s not a former champion, so he’s not exempt. So he doesn’t get to make that decision. I do.”