Keegan Bradley has revealed that he approached Tiger Woods during The Open for a brief conversation about next year's Ryder Cup. Bradley was named Team USA captain after Woods turned down the role due to his other time-consuming commitments.
Bradley and Woods both had a tournament to forget at Royal Troon, with the former missing the cut at +7 and the latter finishing way down the field on +14. It was the first time the pair had been back out on the course together since the Ryder Cup captaincy was finalised.
And Bradley claims that he took the opportunity to briefly discuss the matter with Woods in South Ayrshire, where he left the door open for the 48-year-old to be a part of the team in some capacity.
Related articles
"I've told Tiger that I want him to be as involved as he wants to be," said Bradley. "With (The Open) going on, we're not really chatting too much about (the Ryder Cup). We both have a job to do and I don't want to bother Tiger with that. I think in the coming months - we're still 14 months out here, so we've got a long time."
American golf is in a healthy place, with Xander Schauffele's Open Championship triumph sealing a clean sweep of US winners across all four majors in 2024.
And they will be out for revenge at the Ryder Cup next year after losing 16.5-11.5 against the Europeans in Rome last time out. But Woods still wasn't enticed, citing the demanding nature of his new role as vice chairman of PGA Tour Enterprises.
He said: "With my new responsibilities to the Tour and time commitments involved, I felt like I would not be able to commit the time to Team USA and the players required as a captain.
"That does not mean I wouldn’t want to captain a team in the future. If and when I feel it is the right time, I will put my hat in the ring for this committee to decide."
Related articles
Woods last featured in the Ryder Cup as a player back in 2018, two years after playing as vice captain at Hazeltine, and he has eight overall appearances under his belt.
In May, PGA of America chief Seth Waugh explained: "We have had conversations for months. Tiger has been pretty clear. He doesn't do anything that he's not fully committed to, and we totally respect that. He's got a lot on his plate right now."
