Speculations about Tiger as team captain, Scheffler uninjured, fun with DP World Tour and the Kordas. The Back Nine.
At the start of the year, a bit of speculation is allowed. Some disguise it as a forecast, a very popular discipline in early January. The colleagues from the renowned US portal The Fried Egg boldly predicted the following for the upcoming golf year: The PGA of America offers Tiger Woods the position of captain for the Ryder Cup trip to Ireland in 2027, but the 50-year-old politely declines. He prefers to lead the US team when the event is on home soil. The GOAT as skipper in a continental competition on his own turf: that would probably break all previous fan hype records in golf in the USA.
Anyway, it would be Woods’ second refusal after already turning down 2025 at Bethpage Black. This famously led to the appointment of Keegan Bradley, who has since carried the trauma of the 2012 Medinah loss and not being selected for Rome 2023. However, this would be an understandable decision by Tiger. Why give up home advantage – even if statistically it does not really exist – and risk tarnishing his sporting reputation away from home in a command role where the chances are far from favorable? The last time the Americans won in Europe was in 1993 at The Belfry in England.
Moreover, his likely counterpart at Adare Manor could be Luke Donald, who has already famously outmaneuvered the US skipper twice. This puts the PGA of America in a dilemma again; hardly anyone else seems appropriate for the team captain role. Hopefully, it won’t be Keegan Bradley again – Medinah loser Davis Love III did get a second chance in 2016 at home. Well, some speculation is allowed… The ‘Fried Egg’ team also came up with some other thoughts: