Woods has ‘a lot on his plate’ amid LIV merger after Ryder Cup captaincy snub

Xander Schauffele believes Tiger Woods’ decision to turn down the 2025 United States Ryder Cup captaincy was due to the 82-time PGA Tour winner having ‘a lot on his plate’.

Woods was expected to take on the role of Team USA captain at next year’s Ryder Cup, with the Americans looking to bounce back from a dismal defeat at Marco Simone last October. On Monday, however, it was reported by The Telegraph that Woods had turned down the opportunity having received the offer from the PGA of America.

Later that day it was officially announced that Woods’ fellow PGA Tour star Keegan Bradley would take on the role, nine months after being snubbed as a player by his predecessor Zach Johnson.

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Woods is yet to comment on his decision not to take on the role, but one man who has had his say is one of Team USA’s biggest stars in Schauffele. “I think a lot of people were banking on Tiger to do it,’ the US PGA champion claimed ahead of this week’s Scottish Open.

“He obviously has a lot on his plate.” What Schauffele was referring to was no doubt Woods’ current role away from the golf course, representing his players in the negotiations between the PGA Tour and Public Investment Fund (PIF), with the finalised deal expected to end their dispute with LIV Golf.

Woods himself confessed similar when asked at May’s PGA Championship whether he was any closer to becoming Ryder Cup captain. “We’re still talking,” he said at Valhalla. “There’s nothing that has been confirmed yet. We’re still working on what that might look like. Also whether or not I have the time to do it.

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“I’m dedicating so much time to what we’re doing with the PGA Tour, I don’t want to not fulfil the role of the captaincy if I can’t do it. What that all entails and representing Team USA and the commitments to the PGA of America, the players, and the fans and as I said, all of Team USA. I need to feel that I can give the amount of time that it deserves.”

Whilst addressing Woods’ snub Schauffele discussed the prospects of working alongside Bradley, who could well act as a player-captain if he finds form on the PGA Tour in the build-up. “Yeah, it’s surprising. You typically expect someone that’s a little bit older to get selected as a captain,” Schauffele claimed.

“So Keegan expressed his love for the Ryder Cup publicly, which we all saw, and I’m sure — I haven’t talked to him or seen him yet, but I’m sure he’s over the moon and is going to do a great job… Knowing Keegan and how good of a job he’s going to want to do, he’s going to love doing the press and talking about the tournament and the Cup and proud to be an American, all those things. It’s going to be really interesting and fun to see.”