Although attention is firmly on the second men’s Major championship of 2024 – the PGA Championship – talk briefly turned to the Ryder Cup in 2025 during Seth Waugh, CEO of The PGA of America’s, press conference at Valhalla.
We know who will captain the Europeans into battle at Bethpage Black, as Luke Donald continues his tenure, but it is still unclear as to who will be in charge of the American team. However, one of the favorites is 15-time Major winner, Tiger Woods, with Waugh revealing that they have had conversations about the possibility of Woods leading the US side next year.
“He (Woods) obviously made it pretty public in Georgia a month or so ago, and I obviously was asked about it today,” stated Waugh, who held a lengthy press conference on Wednesday afternoon in Kentucky.
“We have had conversations for months. We have also had conversations at the Ryder Cup Committee, multiple conversations about potential captains and a list of potential captains. You know, Tiger, he’s been pretty clear. I think we all know that he can be pretty focused, and one of his many superpowers is that ability to sort of tunnel and decide. And he doesn’t do anything that he’s not fully committed to, and we totally respect that.
“He’s got a lot on his plate right now. He’s very active, obviously, on the Tour side of things. We want to give him and the committee space to decide, you know, decide how it plays out.”
After reclaiming the Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits in 2021, the US side were handed a 16.5 – 11.5 defeat by Donald’s men in Marco Simone in 2023. The defeat meant the Americans haven’t won on European soil since the 1993 Ryder Cup, a span of 30 years.
Both Donald and vice-captain, Edoardo Molinari, who was one of Europe’s best assets in Rome due to his expertise in the stats department, have already scoped out Bethpage. This doesn’t seem to phase the PGA of America CEO, though, as Waugh claimed decisions on captaincy have been made later than this.
“You know, everybody sort of has a timeline and I realize it’s a news day and you guys want news, but we have picked captains later than this,” explained the American. “We’ve picked captains earlier than this. Luke Donald was named a year out a year ago and they had a pretty good performance, for instance. We think there’s plenty of time, and putting an artificial date on it is not something we need to do.”
Just 24 hours prior to Waugh’s press conference, Woods also spoke to the media at the PGA Championship. Reiterating what the PGA of America CEO had stated, claiming that discussions were ongoing, Woods added: “We’re still talking.
“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. I’m dedicating my time so much time to what we’re doing with the PGA Tour, I don’t want to not fulfill the role of the captaincy if I can’t do it.”
