Speculations about Tiger as team captain, Scheffler injury-free this time, 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 popular discipline in early January. The colleagues at the renowned US portal The Fried Egg boldly suggested for the upcoming golf year: The PGA of America offers Tiger Woods the role of captain for the 2027 Ryder Cup trip to Ireland, but the 50-year-old politely declines. He prefers to lead the US team when they play at home. The GOAT as skipper at a continental contest on home turf: it would probably blow all fan hype ever seen in US golf.
Anyway, it would mark Woods’ second refusal, after he already declined the 2025 Bethpage Black event. This led to Keegan Bradley’s appointment, who since the 2012 Medinah defeat and non-selection for Rome 2023 carries his third trauma. It’s an understandable decision from Tiger. Why leave home advantage – statistically de facto non-existent – and risk losing away, where chances are slim. The Americans’ last European win was 1993 at The Belfry in England.
Moreover, his opponent in Adare Manor might be Luke Donald, who has outplayed the US skipper twice spectacularly. This puts the PGA of America in another dilemma, as few others are suitable for team captain. Hopefully Keegan Bradley won’t be asked again – Medinah loser Davis Love III had a second chance in 2016, again at home. Well, speculation is allowed… The Fried Egg also added:
McIlroy and Keegan: It’s Complicated
A strange situation: Boston Common famously won its first match in the Tomorrow’s Golf League, thanks in part to putts from Michael Thorbjornsen filling in for Adam Scott and Hideki Matsuyama. But last Friday at the SoFi Center in Palm Beach Gardens, the ‘Frogs’ faced not only Los Angeles but also an internal team tension. Rory McIlroy and Boston Common teammate Keegan Bradley had to put on a united front, despite a special relationship since the Bethpage Ryder Cup.
Specifically, since McIlroy was insulted by US fans in a partly nasty way. Bradley downplayed fan hostility as merely ‘very passionate.’ They reportedly reconciled, but before Boston Common’s first appearance in the second TGL season, the matter resurfaced. McIlroy made it clear he still holds a grudge against \”Captain Keegan\” for not doing anything to moderate aggressive fans. \”Sure, you need to use home advantage,\” said the five-time major winner on the podcast \”The Overlap\” with Gary Neville, Jamie Carragher, and Roy Keane: \”But Keegan and others had the chance to say: ‘Let’s stay calm. Let’s try to play with the right attitude.’ Some did, but not Keegan. As captain, he could have had the biggest impact and said something. But he didn’t.\” On social media, relationship status would be: It’s complicated.