Tiger Woods accused of blowing Ryder Cup captaincy | Golf News

Tiger Woods might have shied away from the chance to captain Team USA at the Ryder Cup, suggests Rory McIlroy’s ex-agent Andrew ‘Chubby’ Chandler. The golf icon, with 15 major wins under his belt, hasn’t performed in the biennial event since 2018, when he misplaced all 4 of his matches and Europe emerged victorious.

Woods was a favourite to lead Team USA this 12 months as they intention to recapture the Ryder Cup, last received in 2021. Yet, he handed on the captaincy, citing obligations with the TGL and PIF discussions.

Keegan Bradley stepped up as captain, changing into the youngest since Arnold Palmer in 1963.

Chandler, who managed McIlroy for about 4 years, suspects Woods might need ‘bottled’ the choice due to differing attitudes toward the Ryder Cup between the US and Europe.

“They offered it to Tiger, he didn’t want it,” Chandler revealed to Casino Hawks. “I think he might have bottled it. I don’t know. He’d say maybe there wasn’t enough time, but that’s nonsense.”

“They don’t treat it like we do though. America doesn’t treat it like it’s a big thing as Europe does, and they never have done. Patrick Reed is one of the few that treats it like we do but he’s not in.”

Despite declining the function last 12 months, Woods has expressed that he would take into account captaining in the future, although he felt unable to totally commit at the time.

“With my new responsibilities and time commitments involved, I felt like I would not be able to commit the time to Team USA and the players required as a captain,” Woods explained.

He also expressed openness to future alternatives: “That does not mean I wouldn’t want to captain a team in the future. If and when I feel it is the right time, I will put my hat in the ring for this committee to decide.”

Bradley then shared that he had obtained appreciable steerage from Woods while deliberating over his squad picks.

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“Yeah, it’s interesting because so many times in my career I’ve leaned on other players to help me go through situations, whether it’s endorsements or certain situations or how I feel in tournaments,” Bradley mirrored.

He admitted feeling considerably remoted in his new function: “I have no one to talk to about this. I can’t call someone who’s done it. Tiger Woods did it at the Presidents Cup. I’ve spoken to him a ton about this.”

Bradley acknowledged the distinctive challenges of the Ryder Cup in contrast to other occasions: “There’s a few other guys that have done it in the Presidents Cup. The Ryder Cup is a much different animal, but we have a plan.”