Speculations about Tiger as team captain, Scheffler injury-free, 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 prediction, a very popular discipline in early January. The colleagues from the renowned US portal The Fried Egg have boldly suggested that 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 is expected to politely decline. He prefers to lead the US team when they have a home game. The GOAT as skipper for the continental competition on home turf: this would likely explode all existing fan hype around golf in the USA.
Anyway, this would be Woods’ second decline after already turning down 2025 at Bethpage Black. That appointment led to Keegan Bradley taking the role, who has since carried three traumas, including the 2012 Medinah loss and being overlooked for Rome 2023. Woods’ decision is understandable. Why leave the home advantage – statistically almost non-existent – and risk tarnishing his reputation in an away command mission with poor chances? The Americans last won in Europe in 1993 at The Belfry in England.
Moreover, his opponent in Adare Manor might be Luke Donald, who has outplayed the US skipper twice in the past. Thus, the PGA of America faces a dilemma again, with few other candidates suitable for the captaincy. Let’s hope it’s not Keegan Bradley again – Medinah-loser Davis Love III, notably, had a second chance in 2016, though at home. Speculation is allowed… The Fried Egg team also came up with some additional thoughts.
McIlroy and teammate Keegan: It’s complicated
An unusual situation: Boston Common has won a match in the Tomorrow’s Golf League for the first time, helped by putts from Michael Thorbjornsen, who substituted for Adam Scott and Hideki Matsuyama. Last Friday at the SoFi Center in Palm Beach Gardens, the ‘Frogs’ not only faced Los Angeles but also had a tense internal team situation. Rory McIlroy and teammate Keegan Bradley had to put on a united front under the roof, despite a strained relationship since the 2022 Ryder Cup at Bethpage.
McIlroy has been subjected to sometimes nasty treatment by US fans, while Bradley minimized the fan behavior as just ‘very passionate.’ They allegedly reconciled, but before Boston Common’s first outing in this second TGL season, the issue resurfaced. McIlroy clearly expressed that he still holds a grudge against ‘Captain Keegan’ for not doing more to calm the overzealous fans. The five-time major winner stated in the podcast ‘The Overlap’ with British soccer stars Gary Neville, Jamie Carragher, and Roy Keane: ‘Of course, you have to use the home advantage. But Keegan and the others had the chance to say: ‘Let’s just stay calm and try to play this game with the right attitude.’ Some did, but Keegan did not. As captain, he could have had the greatest impact and