Tiger Woods ‘to be 2022 Ryder Cup captain’

Tiger Woods is being lined up to captain the US Ryder Cup team in 2022.

That’s according to his fellow PGA Tour star Kevin Na. 

In an interview with Sky Sports News, the world No.30 appeared to let the cat out of the bag whilst discussing his dream of playing in the match.

“My goal is to make the Ryder Cup team this year, and I know the following Ryder Cup is in Italy and the captain I believe is Tiger Woods, so that’s another thing that I’m looking forward to,” said the 36-year-old. 

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Asked to confirm that Woods will be the captain at Marco Simone Golf & Country Club in two years’ time, Na tried to backtrack but did so unconvincingly.

“I heard rumours,” he said. “Am I starting a rumour? That’s what I heard. Am I not supposed to say anything? I don’t know, I’ve heard rumours. I won’t tell you who I heard them from, but it wasn’t from him. It was from one of his friends.”

Two-time major champion Zach Johnson has been widely touted to be next in line for the captaincy, with Steve Stricker the current skipper. 

With Phil MIckelson a near-certainty to lead the side at Bethpage in 2024, it had been thought the soonest Woods might lead the team would be 2026 at Adare Manor in Ireland. 

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However, the 15-time major champion was a playing captain in the Americans’ dramatic Presidents Cup victory at Royal Melbourne last December and is hugely popular with the current crop of young US players.

The next Ryder Cup is still scheduled to be played at Whistling Straits in Wisconsin this September, despite the ongoing uncertainty caused by the coronavirus pandemic and a number of players voicing their opposition to playing it behind closed doors, as seems the most likely scenario.