Tiger’s playing captaincy queried by former Ryder Cup skipper

Paul McGinley has questioned Tiger Woods’ decision to be a playing captain at next month’s Presidents Cup.

World No.6 Woods used one of the four wildcards he had at his disposal to choose himself for the match with Ernie Els’ International side at Royal Melbourne, saying that the other players on the team had called for it.

Having won the Masters in April and, on his most recent start at the ZOZO Championship, tied Sam Snead’s record of 82 PGA wins, few would argue that Tiger is deserving of a place on the US team.

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However, McGinley – the mastermind of Europe’s 2014 Ryder Cup victory at Gleneagles – believes that picking himself should have made Woods reconsider his position as captain.

“I’m surprised Tiger has not stepped aside as captain of the Presidents Cup,” tweeted McGinley. “Was one of the goals set out by America’s task force in 2014 not succession planning and for immediate future captains to gain valuable experience?”

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The ‘Task Force’ McGinley refers to was set up by the PGA of America and senior American golfers in the aftermath of the defeat to the Irishman’s side at Gleneagles in 2014. 

It initially comprised a committee of eight current and former players: Raymond Floyd, Tom Lehman, Davis Love III, Rickie Fowler, Steve Stricker, Phil Mickelson, and Woods.

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It also included three PGA officials: Paul Levy, the vice-president of the PGA of America; Pete Bevacqua, the CEO of the PGA of America; and Derek Sprague, the president of The PGA of America.

Whilst roundly mocked on the eastern side of the Atlantic, the Task Force was vindicated when the US emphatically won the 2016 Ryder Cup.

In picking himself for next month’s Presidents Cup, Woods becomes the first playing captain from the USA since Hale Irwin performed the same dual role in the inaugural Presidents Cup in 1994.