Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods have made same Ryder Cup decision for very different reasons

Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy have both rejected the chance to become Ryder Cup captain in recent years, but the golfing icons have very different reasons for doing so

Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods have both decided they don’t want to be Ryder Cup captain (

Both Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods have declined the opportunity to captain their respective Ryder Cup teams, albeit for different reasons.

A face-off between McIlroy and Woods as captains of Team Europe and Team USA respectively would have been a dream come true for golf enthusiasts in the future. However, this seems highly unlikely after both sportsmen explained why they are not ready to take on the prestigious honour.

Woods has decided against becoming the Team USA captain for the forthcoming Ryder Cup, citing his other commitments as the reason. “With my new responsibilities to the (PGA) Tour 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 revealed in a statement released by PGA of America on Tuesday.

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Although he declined the role for 2025, he hinted that he might consider it in the future. “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.”

On the other hand, McIlroy was a prime candidate to be Team Europe’s player-captain for the Ryder Cup in 2027 or 2029. However, he says he also plans to reject the opportunity, stating that the role requires “too much work”.

Woods’ days as a player at the Ryder Cup are behind him at this stage of his career. McIlroy, on the other hand, simply does not want to jeopardize playing in the competition for many years to come.

“There’s too much work that goes into it,” McIlroy said. “I’ve seen what Luke (Donald) went through preparing for Rome. There’s no way you can be as good a captain as you need to be and be playing as well.”

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“It’s been mentioned, and I’ve just said, ‘No way.’ If you want to be the best captain you can be, you can’t play. And if you want to be the best player you can be, you can’t captain. It’s one or the other. Especially with how big the Ryder Cup has become and how many things you have to do in the lead-up to the event, the week of the event.”

After Woods turned down the role for the upcoming Ryder Cup, it was revealed that Keegan Bradley would take the helm as Team USA’s captain. This came as a significant reversal after Bradley was notably absent from the Ryder Cup in 2023, yet the 38 year old expressed deep gratitude for the appointment.

“Well, I’m incredibly humbled and honored to be the Ryder Cup captain for Team USA,” Bradley remarked. “Being on a Ryder Cup team changes your life forever. Being in the room with those guys and feeling the extreme pressure of this tournament will change you.”

“The dream of being a Ryder Cup captain is something that a lot of us don’t even think about because it’s so, such a prestigious honor, and I never knew if I would get this opportunity. I always felt like this is something that I would love to do and be able to handle, and I’m so honored to be able to be the leader of this team and going to Bethpage to win the Ryder Cup back for America.”

The choice left many fans gobsmacked, and even Rory McIlroy couldn’t help but remark on the “interesting” selection. The Team Europe heavyweight shared his thoughts on the unexpected decision.

“Yeah, definitely I think a surprise for everyone,” McIlroy commented on Thursday following his round at the Scottish Open. “I mean, it’s certainly a departure from what the U.S. has done over the last few years. Time will tell if that’s a good thing or not. I think Keegan was probably in disbelief, at some point, too, but certainly an interesting pick.”