There is at least one milestone Tiger Woods has yet to reach: turning 50 years old. But that will change. On Dec. 30, Woods will reach a half-century, an occasion we’re honoring here at GOLF.com with nine days of Tiger coverage that will not only pay tribute to his staggering career accomplishments, but also look forward to what may come next for a transformative player whose impact on the game can’t be measured simply in titles or big wins. In our latest Tiger @ 50 entry (below), senior writer Sean Zak breaks down one of the few aspects of his career that can still be improved.
MORE TIGER @ 50 COVERAGE: How Much Does Tiger Really Cost to Golf? | Will Tiger make it on the PGA Tour Champions? | Why does the Tiger 2000 bag still feel untouchable? | Explaining Tiger’s famous “gate drill”. | Tiger stats you’ve never heard | Was this the end of Woods’ career?
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In a few days, Tiger Woods will turn 50, adding fuel to one of the most pointless debates going around:
Will he ever play on the Champions Tour?
The conversation – on social media, or published by reputable journalists – is surprisingly conducted by those who would benefit financially from Woods saying yes, including GOLF.com! Woods, for his part, has addressed the decision with joking responses that tell you how seriously he’s taking it.
The truth is that Woods’ legacy will remain largely untouched by any semblance of a career on the Champions Tour. Of course we want to see it, but if he wins a few tournaments driving around in a golf cart, would you be surprised? Remember how much it meant when Phil Mickelson went 50-plus rounds and won easily: very little! That’s why I’d like us to focus our attention on something that might actually add to Woods’ legacy in his next decade:
Captain of a Ryder Cup team.
One obvious reason why this is worth more oxygen than reliable starts on the senior tour is that Woods has treated the idea of ​​Ryder Cup captaincy in a way that… in a strange way.
Two summers ago – when Woods lost three straight in 2024 – it was clear that his playing skills and body had deteriorated. This coincided with Seth Waugh, then head of the PGA of America, making it clear that the ball was in Woods’ court if he wanted the US captaincy for the upcoming Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black.
Usually that position is decided about 18 months before the competition, but here we were four months latewith no American leader decreed. As I understand it, Woods sat on the offer for months and months, unsure if he would be able to give her proper attention between his various duties reshaping the PGA Tour.
You know the story by now: Keegan Bradley was dealt the position in a shocking move (which took place in an all-American rumble in Bethpage). A week after the news of Bradley’s appointment broke, Woods was at Royal Troon for the Open – the last time he played in the competition – explaining during his press conference that he simply did not have the time required for a captain. But then, a few minutes later, I raised my hand with a simple question and got a very strange answer.
I know you just finished us off by not having enough time to captain the Ryder Cup, I started. Would you entertain the idea of ​​being a vice-captain if Keegan asked?
His answer it was four words long:
“He didn’t ask me.”
That felt like a classic Woods response. Only you answer the question they want to answer, not necessarily what you were asked. It was stinging in its brevity. Perhaps Woods realized that if he answered in the affirmative, he might be forcing Bradley’s hand. If he answered in the negative, he would only open himself up to prosecution for his lack of interest. We moved on to more foreboding topics, and I would have been pleased with the experience if Woods hadn’t responded very similarly two years later.
When Woods gave his annual press conference earlier this month at the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas, he was asked if the 2027 captain – for the Ryder Cup in Adare Manorin Ireland — was a position he was interested in pursuing. This time, he gave six words.
“Nobody asked me about it.”
I am asking you about thissaid the journalist in return.
“No one asked me about that,” Woods repeated.
We’ll again allow him the benefit of the doubt, knowing that Woods saying yes would undo a lot of work already done by the PGA of America. And if he said no, again, it would open up space for everyone to ask WHY?
Given his nonchalance — and the repeated need to be asked first — it feels worthy of a conversation, especially now that Woods returns to the decade when most captains develop. How long is he in office?
Recent history has shown us that the most cohesive and successful Ryder Cup captains have come with executives who are on the PGA Tour schedule, who demonstrate an ability to bond closely with their teamsand who have spent time as assistant captains in recent Cups. Woods has been in touch with the players during the last few Ryder Cups, but always from a remote location in south Florida. He hasn’t been on the field in a Ryder Cup since the Americans were dragged to France in 2018, the final matches of his 13-21-3 career record as a player.
In terms of personality, Woods is as much of a contrast as outgoing US captain Bradley, who lined up to do as much promotional marketing for the event as was required… and then some. Bradley opened his home to Netflix cameras during the 2023 Cup, did photo shoots for both GOLF Magazine AND Golf Digest took various trips to Bethpage and answered endless questions about his approach to the captain. Will all this really happen for Woods – a man whose golf these days mostly takes place in simulator appearances for Jupiter Links GC?
We put these questions out there only to help golf fans consider the position – and Woods’ decision – holistically. It would be absurd if he didn’t captain a Ryder Cup team in the next 10 years. But it seems extremely unlikely that Woods will captain the US team in 2027, a decision that has probably already been made by the PGA of America.
It’s the 2029 Ryder Cup, which will be held at Hazeltine in Minnesota. Woods was an assistant captain under Davis Love there when the Americans earned a much-needed victory in 2016. That feels plausible — and would allow Woods to set the record straight at the site of one of his most famous losses: the 2009 PGA. But the timing also coincides directly with the college golf career of his son, Charlie Woods, who graduates from high school in the spring of 2027. One can easily imagine the old Woods traveling to his son’s various tournaments and even coaching Charlie through parts of his collegiate career. Add that to his massive championship schedule and he will be very busy.
It can only be hoped that Woods’ time commitments as a multi-board chairman for the PGA Tour will quieten down by 2028. If so, the next Cup would be in 2029 when Woods is 54 years old. But it will be played abroad, in Barcelona. It would be a delicious, global affair if Woods accepted the position at that point. It’s complicated – for the reasons we will not delve into here — but would Woods tempt him… or repulse the prospect of facing a Sergio Garcia-led team in his place? Maybe we’re going too far there. On a simpler level, would the necessary commitments of international travel and appearances suit Woods’ desires at that point? All these things are part of the captain’s equation.
So is the leadership of the PGA of America. Woods is understood to have been closer to Waugh than to the current PGA of America leaders, but that could certainly change. It just hasn’t been good form lately from the American half of the Ryder Cup – the last fight that revolves around something as predictable as the Bethpage course setup.
We can push forward as far as we like, but it seems the most logical place for Woods to take the Ryder Cup captaincy would be in 2033, when it will be held in Olympic Club in San Francisco. The course sits on the side of a hill and requires all kinds of shot shapes, seemingly perfect for Woods’ analytical and amazing ball-handling mind. It will take place in California, the state where Woods grew up, and just down the coast from where he hosts a tournament every February.
There’s a lot to like about that 2033 Cup for Woods. Except that the further down we go, the older everyone gets. Xander Schauffele will be 39 the week of the 2033 Ryder Cup. Bryson DeChambeau and Justin Thomas will be 40. At least part of that Cup will be decided by a generation of players who aren’t even pros yet — a reminder that the captain’s part of Woods’ legacy isn’t entirely up to him. And for her to feel positive about the career of one of golf’s greatest ever players, that kind of captain has to end with a win, right?
;)
