Former PGA of America CEO Seth Waugh shared that the 2025 Ryder Cup US team’s captaincy spot was open for Tiger Woods. The organization’s former boss said that he had extended talks with the 15x major champion in Rome about the possibility of him taking up the role. However, he claimed that the duo agreed it was “best to move on.”

Replying to a query on his stance on Keegan Bradley’s 2025 Ryder Cup captaincy decision, Seth Waugh said in an interview with Golfweek:

“It was my idea, for better or worse. Look, there’s no secret that it was Tiger’s if he wanted it. Tiger and I had talked about it three or four years earlier. So I called him after Rome and said, ‘Okay, you ready?’ He said, well, I’ve got so much going on in my life that I’m not sure I could commit. Tiger and I finally came to the conclusion it was best to move on.”

“I literally wrote down everybody that I thought was a possibility, went into the committee meeting and said a few names, then said my real choice is Keegan Bradley. There was this pregnant pause and then all of a sudden, the committee members go, ‘Oh my God! We never would have thought of that, but that’s a great idea and he’s the right guy.’ And there was immediate consensus.”

Former PGA boss says Keegan Bradley ‘freaked out’ by Ryder Cup captaincy news

“I’ve known Keegan for 20 years. The players all know him. He lives and breathes the Ryder Cup. I thought about his connection with Bethpage in New York… First time that Keegan heard it, he heard it from me. And he was freaked out by it because he was trying to make the team and wasn’t sure he was worthy. Tiger talked to him, and others, to give him the confidence that he could do it.”