Report: Tiger Woods turns down Ryder Cup captaincy for 2025

A new report from the Telegraph this week claims that famed US golfer Tiger Woods has turned down the opportunity to serve as captain for the Ryder Cup. PGA of America plans to announce the selection in New York on Tuesday and it appears Woods will not be the choice for the Europe versus USA tournament in 2025.

Several names have circulated as potential captains, including Stewart Cink, Fred Couples and Davis Love III. Zach Johnson, 48, served as captain for Team USA in 2023 when the team of Americans lost to the Europeans in stunning fashion in Rome, Italy. Team Europe will have Luke Donald back to serve another term as captain after the big win last year.

“It is understood the Woods was prepared to take on the role if the PGA of America… reduced the normal captaincy commitments ahead of the match,” the Telegraph reported. “But no deal was evidently reached and with the clock ticking, they were forced to look elsewhere.”

One reason cited for Woods’ supposed turning down of the job is his increased involvement in talks between the PGA Tour and the LIV Tour. The five-time Masters Tournament champion took on the role of Vice Chairman for the PGA Tour last year.

Woods continues work on projects with Rory McIlroy, Justin Timberlake

Woods also has other projects in the works, including a golf simulator league (TGL) that he’s putting together with Rory McIlroy. It was set to launch in January of 2024, but the venue got destroyed. The site of the venue is in Florida. The launch is now delayed until 2025. Some of the world’s top golfers have committed to play in the league, including Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa, Xander Schauffele, Max Homa, and Matt Fitzpatrick.

The league has 50-plus famous celebrity investors, ranging from Steph Curry, Shaquille O’Neal, Dwayne Wade, Kevin Durant, Darius Rucker, and many others. Alexis Ohanian–the founder of Reddit–has purchased the first TGL team along with his wife, Serena Williams.

Woods is not only part-owner of a TGL team and the league, but he’ll also play in it, along with Rory McIlroy. We’ll have to see how it all materializes down the road.

The winningest golfer on the PGA Tour also has a new sports bar opening up with pop icon Justin Timberlake. The duo recently received approval to convert St. Andrews New Picture House Cinema into the second location of the pair’s T-Squared Social sports bar.