Tiger Woods reveals glaring LIV Golf sacrifice days before start of The Open

Tiger Woods reveals glaring LIV Golf sacrifice days before start of The Open

In a surprising twist just days before The Open at Royal Troon, Tiger Woods dropped a bombshell: he turned down the chance to captain the United States Ryder Cup team. This decision, made in the midst of intense negotiations between the PGA and LIV Golf, has sent shockwaves through the golf world.

 

Last week, Keegan Bradley was confirmed as the captain for the 2025 Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black in Long Island, New York. Woods, a 15-time major winner and the favorite for the role, cited his overwhelming commitments to the tour and the time-consuming negotiations with the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF), the owners of LIV Golf, as the primary reasons for his decision.

 

In a press conference ahead of The Open, Woods explained, “The decision was very difficult for me to make. My time has been so loaded with the tour and everything we’re trying to accomplish. I’m on so many different subcommittees that it just takes so much time in the day, and I’m always on calls.”

 

Woods has been a key figure in the ongoing discussions with the PIF, which seeks to create a new for-profit entity with the PGA, aiming to reunify the sport after LIV Golf’s breakaway in 2022. This split has prevented golf’s top talents from facing each other regularly, a situation both parties hope to resolve.

 

“I told Seth [Waugh] that I just didn’t feel like I could do the job properly. I couldn’t devote the time,” Woods continued. “I barely have enough time to do what I’m doing right now, and with the TGL starting next year, along with the Ryder Cup and our negotiations with the PIF, it’s just too much. There’s only so many hours in the day.”

 

Woods emphasized his inability to do justice to the captaincy or the players in Team USA with his current commitments. However, he did not rule out the possibility of taking on the role in the future, specifically when the competition heads to Adare Manor in County Limerick in 2027.

 

“As I said, I’ll put my hat in the ring again when I have more time and I feel like I can devote myself to a Ryder Cup,” he explained. “Right now, I’m juggling so many different things and trying to get them right for all the players that are part of the PGA Tour. It’s one of those things where you just can’t get it wrong.”

 

With Woods’ decision, the spotlight now shifts to Keegan Bradley, who will lead Team USA in 2025. Meanwhile, the golf community eagerly awaits the next chapter in Woods’ illustrious career and his potential future as a Ryder Cup captain.