After Team USA’s painful defeat on home soil, conversations about how to turn things around have already begun. While Tiger Woods has long been floated as a dream candidate to captain the American side, Phil Mickelson has stepped in with a very different perspective, arguing that Woods may not be the right fit for the role.
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The latest round of speculation kicked off when golf writer Kyle Porter posted on X, noting how Europe’s success is rooted in strong communication and a clear structure, something he believes the U.S. lacks. His post quickly gained traction, drawing more than 45,000 views and even prompting a response from Mickelson.
Mickelson explained why he doubts Woods is the solution, suggesting instead that the U.S. look beyond golf for leadership. “Here is why looking outside of golf to a Coach K or Lou Holtz is worth exploring,” he wrote. “Golf is an individual sport that doesn’t have teamwork, a support system, a partnership, team analytics, personality traits, and more. The Europeans have a template that teaches and prepares their captains for these skills. The U.S. has a new template every two years with little continuity.”
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He went on to question whether bringing in a non-golf coach would even be sustainable. “If a Coach K or Lou Holtz or someone similar took over, would it be built upon, or would it be scrapped and start over again afterwards? If that’s the case, it would be a waste of time and effort and not worth doing to begin with.”
If the question being posed is, “Man, Europe’s excellence seems to emanate from a trust that is built by establishing relational equity and world class communication at every turn. Who can we get to build our version of that?”
I don’t think “Tiger Woods” is the answer.
— Kyle Porter (@KylePorterNS) September 30, 2025
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For Mickelson, the answer isn’t Tiger Woods but rather a structured system that resembles what great coaches have built in other sports. He pointed to Lou Holtz, who led Notre Dame to the 1988 National Championship, and Mike Krzyzewski (“Coach K”), who guided Duke to five NCAA basketball titles, as examples of leaders who created pipelines of success rather than quick fixes.
That’s exactly what Mickelson sees missing for Team USA. While the Americans rotate captains every two years, Europe follows a clear progression: players earn experience as vice-captains before stepping up to lead. Without that continuity, Mickelson argues, even someone like Woods would struggle to change the culture. Ironically, though Mickelson himself was once considered a likely captain, he has ruled himself out of the role. When Lee Westwood asked about the rumors, Mickelson replied bluntly, “No rumors. My Ryder Cup involvement is over. I’m happy being a spectator and rooting for Team USA 👍.”
Still, his passion for the team remains clear. His critique is less about individuals and more about structure – a belief that the U.S. needs to move away from a revolving-door captaincy and instead build a system where leaders gain experience and continuity.
Keegan Bradley has already taken a small step in that direction by naming a veteran as ambassador for the 2025 edition, a move Mickelson would likely applaud as a step toward lasting change.
Bradley took a step closer with Mickelson’s ideology for Team USA
Larry Nelson, who had an exceptional Ryder Cup record of 9-3-1, was among the top names to lead the team. But unfortunately, he wasn’t given that opportunity. However, for the 2025 edition, the veteran at 77 age was offered a great position to be part of the leadership team. Bradley asked Nelson to be the ambassador of the team. The news came out with a post from Dave Stockton Jr.
The post wrote, “My dad told me last night that @Keegan_Bradley has asked Larry Nelson to be at The Ryder Cup as Ambassador to Team USA. What a class move by Captain Keegan! Larry Nelson was 9-3-1 in 3 Ryder Cups and should’ve been a Captain years ago. 3-time Major Champion too! 😎”
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The efforts of Nelson as overshadowed as his fellow was named as the captain, but he never got the chance. Now that the opportunity knocked at his doorstep, he agreed to the role and shared his gratitude for it. Nelson said, “It really meant a lot that Keegan made an effort to include me.”
With the changes in structure, is it going towards what Phil Mickelson has pointed for the Ryder Cup? Or does the team require more significant changes to win? What do you think about it? Let us know in the comments below.
