Tiger Woods told he is ‘bigger’ than Ryder Cup captaincy

Tiger Woods Ryder Cup

Former US Ryder Cup captain Paul Azinger has offered his verdict on whether Tiger Woods will assume the lead role at a future edition of the biennial bust-up.

Woods, 49, was approached by the PGA of America for captaincy this year but turned down the opportunity due to his commitments on the PGA Tour’s Policy Board.

The 15-time major champ has been tipped to sit in the hotseat at Adare Manor in 2027, a place in which he has close ties to through owner JP McManus, but Azinger believes Woods is ‘bigger’ than the job.

“I don’t know, I think he’d more like to be the commissioner [of the PGA Tour] before the Ryder Cup captain,” he said on the Straight Facts Homie podcast. “Tiger’s bigger than Ryder Cup captaincy.

“I said a couple of years back he should be the permanent captain, all-time captain, because who better? But that’s not right. Other guys deserve to be captain, so I kind of take that back. But I think he has bigger fish to fry.

“Tiger, he’s involved with this game monetarily now and maybe he’ll end up running it, who knows?”

Woods’ role – if any – has been a burning question among golf fans leading up to the tussle between Europe and the US at Bethpage. But Keegan Bradley revealed earlier this summer that he has leaned on Woods throughout his tenure to ask for advice.

“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. I have no one to talk to about this,” Bradley said.

“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. There’s a few other guys that have done it in the Presidents Cup, but the Ryder Cup is a much different animal.

“Tiger has been really helpful. He obviously turned this position down and it came to me, so he’s been very helpful in this process. Tiger has been really, really great to me over the course of my career.

“He does a lot of things for us players that he doesn’t do for the media. So he’s been really helpful to me my whole life. During this process, he’s been one of the most helpful people that I’ve had.”

It’s unclear whether Woods will be on site at the Black Course on Long Island next week, which could pose a hint towards his future in the match.

The Ryder Cup gets underway on Friday, September 26.