Golf chief on Tiger Woods' big decision: "We totally respect that"

PGA of America chief executive says the governing body is not concerned Tiger Woods is taking his time to decide whether to be the next Ryder Cup captain.

Ben Smith

16 May 2024

PGA of America chief executive Seth Waugh says the governing body is not concerned Tiger Woods hasn't made up his mind yet whether to be Team USA's next Ryder Cup captain.

Woods, 48, previously dismissed the idea of succeeding Zach Johnson after he joined the PGA Tour's policy board last August.

The hall of famer declared there was 'too much at stake' with the future of the North American circuit in light of the LIV Golf threat.

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But before the 2024 Masters, Woods made the revelation he had held talks with Waugh about succeeding Johnson.

It is widely assumed Woods wants to skipper the team at Bethpage Black in New York next September and also at Adare Manor in 2027.

Waugh told reporters before the first round of the PGA Championship at Valhalla the job is Woods' if he wants it.

"We’ve had conversations for months," he said. "We’ve also had conversations as the Ryder Cup committee, multiple conversations, about [other] potential captains.

"That’s one of his many superpowers, that ability to sort of tunnel in and he doesn’t do anything that he’s not fully committed to. We totally respect that.

"He’s got a lot on his plate right now. He’s very active, obviously, on the tour side of things. We want to give him and the committee space to decide how it plays out."

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Waugh continued: "Everybody has a timeline for this, and I realise you guys want news, but we’ve picked captains later than this.

"We’ve picked captains earlier than this. Luke Donald was named a year out [for the 2023 match] and they had a pretty good performance, for instance.

“So we think there’s plenty of time and putting an artificial date on is is not something we need to do.

“We’ve committed to continue the conversations.

"He’s playing in a major this week and we’ll re-engage in the next week or so.

“[But] Bethpage is going to be epic. I really believe it’s gonna be the Ryder Cup of Ryder Cups."

What did Woods say about being Ryder Cup captain?

Speaking before teeing it up at Valhalla, Woods said of the prospect: "We're still talking. There's nothing that has been confirmed yet. We're still working on what that might look like.

"Also whether or not I have the time to do it. I'm dedicating my so much time to what we're doing with the PGA Tour, I don't want to not fulfill the role of the captaincy if I can't do it.

"What that all entails and representing Team USA and the commitments to the PGA of America, the players, and the fans and as I said, all of Team USA. I need to feel that I can give the amount of time that it deserves."

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