Tiger Woods is “being consulted” by the US Ryder Cup team in the build-up to this month’s contest at Bethpage, according to reports in the United States.
Woods was the PGA of America’s preferred choice to captain the side in New York, but the 15-time major champion turned down the role due to other time-consuming commitments.
It is believed that Woods described the appointment of Keegan Bradley as captain as “a brilliant choice”, and he has apparently been offering plenty of advice to the US skipper over the last year.
Quoting a US “team source”, GOLF have reported that Woods continues to play a key role in Bradley’s planning for the Ryder Cup as they look to continue the streak of home wins.
“Tiger is being consulted,” the source is quoted as saying. “And I know he feels like he’s a part of Keegan’s decisions and how he’s thinking about it, and Keegan has been hugely respectful of that.
“Without giving [Woods] an outsized role, I think it’s been balanced and kind of appropriate. He’s been sort of an informal advisor or Dutch uncle.”
Keegan Bradley
The source also claims that Woods played a key role in advising Bradley on his decision over whether or not to pick himself for the team and go into the Ryder Cup as player-captain.
Bradley ultimately decided to focus on his duties as captain rather than take on a daunting dual role, having consulted Woods “a ton” over his dilemma.
The US captain did reveal that he gave serious consideration to playing in the Ryder Cup after he won the Travelers Championship in June, but he came to the “heart-breaking’ decision to leave himself out.
“I think we put him in a tough spot,” the source added. “We knew it at the time. He knew it at the time and it probably couldn’t have been a tougher spot.”
Woods would have been the obvious port of call for advice on the matter having himself been a player-captain in the Presidents Cup in 2019.
Tiger Woods
The 49-year-old was approached to captain Team USA for this year’s contest, but he informed PGA of America CEO, Seth Waugh, that he would be unable to devote the necessary amount of time to the role.
“I told Seth that I just didn’t feel like I could do the job properly,” Woods said last year. “I couldn’t devote the time. I barely had enough time to do what I’m doing now.
“There are only so many hours in the day. I just didn’t feel like I would be doing the captaincy or the players on Team USA justice if I was the captain with everything I have to do.”