PAST WINNING RYDER CUP CAPTAIN BELIEVES TIGER WOODS SHOULD LEAD 2025 TEAM

Tiger Woods should captain 2025 US Ryder Cup team admits former winning skipper Paul Azinger.

Former US Ryder Cup captain Paul Azinger believes golf legend Tiger Woods could be given the reigns on the 2025 US Ryder Cup team at Bethpage Black. 

Azinger, who captained the US Ryder Cup team to victory on home soil at Valhalla in 2008, made his comments be known during the broadcast of the final day of the 2023 Ryder Cup where Zach Johnson’s Team USA were defeated 16.5-11.5 by Luke Donald’s Team Europe.

Time for change, you would think?!

Woods, who will be 49 when the 2025 Ryder Cup gets underway but the 15-time major champion could remain captain for as long as two years if he so desires.

To the delight of Woods’ fans, he was seen walking around caddying for his puppy Charlie Woods, who was once again smashing it on the golf course.

That should be a good sign of Woods’ progress as he looks to return to play on the PGA Tour in the future.

But with his golf career seemingly coming to an end, you’d think the Ryder Cup captaincy would soon become a target.

Woods also has a lot of experience as a captain.

Will Tiger Woods be the captain of the 2025 US Ryder Cup team?

He was vice-captain of Davis Love III’s 2016 United States Ryder Cup team that defeated Darren Clarke’s European Ryder Cup team 17-11 at Hazeltine in the United States.

Woods then went on to become the playing captain of the 2019 US Presidents Cup team, which defeated Ernie Els’ Internationals 16-14 at Royal Melbourne in Australia.

Another interesting tick in Woods’ box is that he won the 2002 US Open at Bethpage Black.

Woods ended the week 3 strokes under and 3 strokes ahead of Phil Mickelson.

Despite his incredible PGA Tour career, Woods has only won the Ryder Cup once in eight appearances as a player.

That came at Brookline in 1999.

Woods’ record as a US Ryder Cup player stands at: 13–21–3 (W-L-H).

That is a 35% winning record.

Will Zach Johnson return to captain the 2025 US Ryder Cup team?

Johnson was heavily criticised for his leadership by a large number of American golf fans this week.

Many still believe he should have taken the likes of Cameron Young and Keegan Bradley from the PGA Tour, and even the likes of Bryson DeChambeau and Dustin Johnson from the LIV Golf League.

Captain Johnson admitted his team were suffering from head colds and congestion, which was a reason for their lethargic start to the Ryder Cup.

Team USA lost the first two sessions 6.5-1.5 on Friday and it marked the first time ever in Ryder Cup history they had failed to register a single full point on the opening day’s play.

After the Ryder Cup concluded, he made a shock admission to the media.

It would therefore seem logical Johnson will not be given another chance when the biennial dust-up swings around in New York in two years’ time.

But who knows, maybe he will be afforded another bite at the cherry by the PGA of America.

Another player you would anticipate as a leading contender for the 2025 US Ryder Cup captaincy is Stewart Cink, who acted as one of Johnson’s vice-captains in Rome.

Should Tiger Woods be given the reigns on the 2025 US Ryder Cup team? What about Luke Donald returning to captain the European team? Should Sergio Garcia be let back into the fray?