Following the American team’s struggles against Marco Simone, attention is starting to turn to captain America at the upcoming Ryder Cup in Bethpage, with the legendary Tiger Woods leading the way.
Calls for Tiger Woods to be named captain of the US team for the next Ryder Cup are growing as the dust settles from their poor performance against Marco Simone.
As the reasons for the difficulties in Rome continue to be pondered and analyzed, the debate over who will replace captain Zach Johnson for Team USA is intensifying. Amid criticism of his selections and pairings, the Americans fell to a 16.5-11.5 defeat on European soil as their opponents reclaimed the famous trophy.
Now, Davis Love III has backed his good friend Woods to take the helm of the next edition in Bethpage on Long Island. Of course, the New York State Stadium has been the happy playground of famous champions in 15 major tournaments in the past. Love has called on the 48-year-old to lead the attack next time, recommending his qualifications for the captaincy. He declared:
“We had to call him and ask him. I thought if he wanted it.
Obviously, Tiger is interested in a lot of things right now and I hate to pressure him, but it’s his decision,” he explained before adding:
“Obviously, with a few guys out, he’s the next logical choice. I don’t know if we want to put in that much time and effort.”
Woods, who is currently continuing his rehabilitation after a car accident in February 2021, won the US Open at Bethpage in 2002. His case for the role was also strengthened by captaincy at the 2019 Presidents Cup in Australia and as vice-captain at the 2017 Ryder Cup.
Admitting the stress of captaincy should not be underestimated, Love added:
“It takes a lot of effort. I hope we can convince him. It’s extremely difficult.
“I told a few people about it at the Ryder Cup, I said, ‘This is my last one.’ And they said, ‘No, no, no’ and I said, ‘Yeah, yeah, yeah. It’s time.’ I told Tiger that in 2019, I said, ‘I’m done.’
“He said, ‘Yeah, you’re right, maybe it’s time, who do we think we should have, the young people?’ And then Steve Stricker brought me back the next year.”
Sticker, who led the United States to Ryder Cup glory at Whistling Straits two years ago, gave his own verdict on what happened to the team in Rome. Amid some speculation about the strength of relationships in the dressing room, he revealed how he feels about Marco Simone’s mentality.
This time around, Stricker has been placed in Johnson’s assistant team as vice-captain and he revealed how he senses the mood in the camp. Speaking to golf.com, he said:
“It feels a lot like 2021. These guys get along great.
I don’t know who it was in the media, but I heard – yesterday I was walking by the locker room or somewhere, maybe Brad Faxon said we were too close. “That we are too friends and women are friends too. I just shook my head. At first we weren’t close enough, now we’re too close? I don’t understand. (…) The whole group is very close. Good .”
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