Love III immediately knew who he wanted to lead the 2025 Ryder Cup in New York and it was none other than Tiger Woods.
The Ryder Cup binge just ended as the Europeans snatched another trophy from the Americans.
Before the Constellation Furyk and Friends tournament on the Champions Tour, the media asked Davis Love III about the future of the event. The 2025 Ryder Cup will take place at Bethpage Black in two years. As a player, assistant and captain, Love III has not wavered on who should lead this team.
“We need to call Tiger Woods and ask him,” Love III said. “I hate to put pressure on him, but it’s his decision. Obviously, with a few guys out, he’s the next logical choice. It asks a lot of you. I hope we can convince him of that.
Woods has never been a Ryder Cup captain before, but he served as assistant captain in 2016 when he was physically unable to play.
He led Team USA at the President’s Cup. Woods served as captain in 2019 when they traveled to Melbourne, Australia, where they came from behind to defeat the international team. He went 5-0 that week, and some might argue that Woods was the best American player that week. In typical fashion, the 15-time major winner first faced the uncouth Abraham Ancer and beat him 3&2 to set the tone for the rest of the event.
Love III takes over as President Cup captain in 2022. Although he wants Woods to be a part of his team in some capacity, due to Tiger’s physical limitations due to his car accident in 2021, he cannot participate in any role.
The 21-time PGA Tour winner has captained both and knows what it takes to lead the Americans. He credited Zach Johnson as a strong leader, but acknowledged changes could be for the better.
“They need to get rid of guys like Davis Love and maybe Fred Couples and move on. I am lobbying for that,” Love III said. “I told a few people about it at the Ryder Cup, I said, man, this is my last one, and they said ‘no, no, no’ and I said yeah, yeah, yeah, it’s been time.”
Although he enjoys being a member of Team USA, Love III has been around for a long time. The 59-year-old realized it was time for him to step out of the shadows.
“I told that to Tiger in 2019. I said, ‘I’m done,’” Love III said. “He said, ‘Yeah, you’re right, probably time, who do we think we ought to get, young guys?’ Then [Steve] Stricker brought me right back in the next year. I’ll never quit helping if they want me to help, but I’d be better in logistics now, behind the scenes.”
However, Love III also acknowledged it’s possible Woods has too much on his plate.
“Tiger’s been a big help behind the scenes,” Love III said. “Maybe that’s what he and I want to keep doing is stay behind the scenes and help out Stewart Cink or whoever the next guy is.”
It’s clear Love III thinks Woods is the next choice for Bethpage Black, but will the Big Cat take on that role? Who do you think should be the next Ryder Cup captain?
Leave a Reply