Why Tiger Woods said no to Ryder Cup captaincy

Check back in two years.

Tiger Woods explained Tuesday why he passed on a chance to be Ryder Cup captain for the 2025 team — a responsibility that instead went to Keegan Bradley — when they take on the Europeans at Bethpage.

“With my new responsibilities to the 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 said in a statement to Golf Channel shortly after Bradley was introduced at a press conference.

Woods, however, left open the possibility of being a captain in the future.

“That does not mean I wouldn’t want to captain a team in the future,” he said. “If and when I feel it is the right time, I will put my hat in the ring for this committee to decide.”

Woods’ responsibilities to the PGA Tour include negotiations with the PIF — the financial arm of the Saudi Arabian government, which funded LIV Golf.

Figuring out what golf’s future looks like with the two leagues has been a focus since some of golf’s biggest names started defecting to LIV.

If Woods, 48, is able to be a part of a solution that brings peace and further financial prosperity, it will only add to his legacy in the sport.

The job of avenging the Americans’ loss to Europe now falls on Bradley, a surprising choice for captain after he was left off the 2023 squad.

Bradley said Tuesday he had no discussions with the PGA of America before the one that he was told he would be the captain of the team.

Bradley said that call came from Zach Johnson, the 2023 captain who passed him over and received much criticism for that decision and others as the Americans were romped, 16 1/2 – 11 1/2.

“I feel terrible for what he’s had to go through and I feel so honored that he called,” Bradley said, according to Barstool’s Dan Rapaport.