“It was Tiger Woods’ if he wanted it” – Former PGA boss Seth Waugh reveals more details about Ryder Cup captaincy pick

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.”

Waugh went on to state that it was his decision to bring Keegan Bradley to lead the American team at Bethpage Black. He said that the organization was keen to get ‘younger people’ on its side and his ‘real choice’ was Bradley. The veteran leader claimed that the decision was welcomed with consensus from other committee members.

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.”

Waugh said the 'Ryder Cup Task Force’ was set in place to ‘create consistency but also to create interesting choices of captaincies.’ He opined that former skippers like Davis Love III, Jim Furyk, Steve Stricker and Zach Johnson were ‘all the same generation.’

The former Deutsche Bank Americas CEO said the ‘younger people on the Ryder Cup committee’ like Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas wanted ‘a captain that's more relatable.’ He added:

“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.”

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

Seth Waugh further stated that Keegan Bradley ‘lives and breathes the Ryder Cup.’ He added that the 38-year-old first heard the news from him and he was ‘freaked out’ by it. He further stated that Tiger Woods had a chat with the new skipper after the big announcement.

The former PGA boss added:

“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.”

It is pertinent to note that the qualification campaigns for the 2025 Ryder Cup teams are currently underway. The event is set to tee off on September 26 at Bethpage Black in New York.