Tiger Woods was strongly backed to become captain of the US team for the 2025 Ryder Cup, but the 15-time major winner turned down the role and Keegan Bradley has stepped forward.
Former European captain Bernard Gallacher has told Tiger Woods he made a mistake in turning down the role of captaining Team USA at the 2025 Ryder Cup.
It looked like Woods was set to become the man to lead the United States on home soil at Bethpage Black in 2025, before it was revealed that the 15-time major champion opted to turn down the offer. The PGA of America then turned its attention to Keegan Bradley, who will lead his nation into battle on a course he knows well next fall.
One man who knows exactly how to take charge of a Ryder Cup team is Gallacher, having led Europe to three Ryder Cups, including an away win at Oak Hill Country Club in his final year in charge in 1995.
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Giving his opinion on Woods’ decision to say no to the PGA of America, Golf Care ambassador Gallacher said: Mirror sport: “I was disappointed that Tiger Woods turned it down. I think the PGA of America is probably disappointed and I think everyone in America is probably disappointed.
“You would have thought that would have been the perfect captaincy for him. A home game in New York with very partisan support. He says he can’t afford to waste time because he’s on the board now and he’s trying to sort out the deal with LIV and the PGA Tour.”
The 2025 tournament offers the Americans the perfect chance to regain the title they lost to Marco Simone last October, as the event will be held at Bethpage Black in front of a notoriously rowdy New York crowd. As a result, Gallacher believes this would have been the perfect opportunity for Woods to take the reins.
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“I think Tiger is making a mistake not to captain in New York, I really do,” he added. “I know he’ll probably captain Ireland next time, but he could have captained both New York and Ireland, but he has his own reasons for doing it and we have to accept that.”
Away from Woods, the focus soon turned to Bradley, and the appointment caught many off guard, including Bradley himself. The American will become one of the youngest captains at the Ryder Cup in New York and has stated his intentions to compete at Bethpage Black as a player captain with his name still in the world’s top 20 players.
The idea has been questioned by some after the incident, including his European rival Rory McIlroy, and Gallacher feels the same way. “He’s only 38 and he’s in the top 20 in the world,” the Scot added. “You’d think he might have said ‘it’s a great honour, but I want to be in the team, not be the team captain’.”
“I don’t think you can be a captain and play. There are too many distractions for a playing captain these days, with the media and other responsibilities.” Despite the obvious question marks, Gallacher believes the appointment could be a smart move by the PGA of America.
” “But he ticks all the boxes for the US PGA Tour. He’s obviously a player they like and of course he’s very enthusiastic,” he said. From an American point of view, I think it will work, but I think he will accept that he can’t play and also be captain. I think he will be a good captain, the players will like him, he seems like a very friendly guy.
Gallacher noted Bradley’s class in accepting that he had not been included in the U.S. team in Italy as a player last time out: “He took it very well not getting the phone call from Zach Johnson. He was disappointed, but he took it well, with grace, and I think everyone has admired him for that.”
