Speculations about Tiger as captain, Scheffler injury-free, fun with DP World Tour and the Kordas. The Back Nine.
At the beginning of the year, a bit of speculation is allowed. Some disguise it as prediction, a popular discipline in early January. The colleagues from the renowned US portal The Fried Egg made a bold claim looking ahead to the upcoming golf year: The PGA of America will offer Tiger Woods the role of captain for the Ryder Cup 2027 trip to Ireland, but the 50-year-old politely declines. He prefers to lead the US team when it’s a home game. The GOAT as skipper at a continental event on home soil: this would likely break all fan hype records in the USA.
Either way, it would be Woods’ second refusal after already declining for 2025 and Bethpage Black. This famously led to the appointment of Keegan Bradley, who has since carried the trauma of Medinah 2012’s defeat and exclusion from Rome 2023. This would be a sensible decision by Tiger. Why would he give up home advantage – statistically almost non-existent – and risk tarnishing his record abroad, where the chances are slim? The Americans last won in Europe in 1993 at The Belfry in England.
Moreover, his opponent at Adare Manor might be Luke Donald, who has thoroughly outplayed US captains twice before. This leaves the PGA of America in a dilemma, as hardly anyone else seems suitable for the team captain role. Hopefully, it won’t be another call-up for Keegan Bradley–Medinah loser Davis Love III got a second chance in 2016, but that was at home. Well, speculation is allowed… What the Fried Egg team also suggested: