Stewart Cink reacts to Tiger Woods turning down Ryder Cup captaincy

Stewart Cink has confirmed that Tiger Woods turned down the US Ryder Cup captaincy, with Keegan Bradley now set to be named as Zach Johnson’s shock successor.

It first emerged in a Telegraph report that Woods had rejected the chance to lead Team USA for the first time at Bethpage Black in 2025.

The PGA of America will finally announce their next captain at 5pm UK time on Tuesday – with Sports Illustrated now reporting that 38-year-old Bradley is the surprise alternative name being lined up for the role.

And Cink, who had until now been considered one of the front-runners, has suggested that the 15-time major champion’s new commitments on the PGA Tour’s Policy Board proved a decisive factor.

• Report: Keegan Bradley “set to be US Ryder Cup captain”

• Report: Tiger Woods declines 2025 Ryder Cup captaincy

“I thought he should have first run at it and he has,” Cink told reporters at the Renaissance Club, where he is playing at this week’s Genesis Scottish Open.

“It doesn’t surprise me that he’s turned it down because since he’s stepped into the board position – the PGA Tour is pretty busy right now and he’s got a lot away from the course too with his injuries and trying to recover and get himself in the kind of condition that he can play. He wants to play.

“I’m not surprised he turned it down. It’s probably a pretty big role when you consider adding it to all that stuff.”

When asked if he is still in the running for the 2025 captaincy himself, Cink said: “I think so. I’d be shocked if they listed names and I wasn’t on the list at least.”

But it appears, on this occasion at least, the 2009 Open champion has missed out.

• Michael Block considering career switch

• Top analyst tears into ‘irrelevant’ Jon Rahm

Cink admitted he had not even heard that a press conference had been called by the PGA of America tomorrow, and he will be playing in a pro-am here in East Lothian during the time of the announcement.

Bradley, meanwhile, appears the left-field choice by the PGA of America.

The six-time PGA Tour winner was famously snubbed in Johnson’s captain’s picks before last year’s heavy defeat to Europe in Rome, a gut-wrenching episode that was relived in full on Netflix’s Full Swing series. 

Bradley, the current world No.19, is still playing some of the best golf of his career will only be 39 when the showdown in New York comes around.

He has played in two Ryder Cups and one Presidents Cup during his garlanded career, but has no experience in leadership roles across either contest.

Ben Parsons joined bunkered as a Content Producer in 2023 and is the man to come to for all of the latest news, across both the professional and amateur games. Formerly of The Mirror and Press Association, he is a member at Halifax Golf Club and is a long-suffering fan of both Manchester United and the Wales rugby team.