Who will be the next U.S. Ryder Cup captain?
It appears it’s Tiger Woods’s job if he wants it. The 15-time major champion has a connection to JP McManus, who purchased Ireland’s Adare Manor, the site of the 2027 Ryder Cup, a decade ago. If he doesn’t want the responsibility, though, other candidates are Webb Simpson, Brandt Snedeker, or giving 2025 captain Keegan Bradley a chance at redemption.
Oh, and Stewart Cink, who would love to hold that position.
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“Heck yeah I’m interested in being the Ryder Cup captain,” Cink said ahead of this week’s PGA Tour Champions event. “I would love to. I’d love to represent the United States and the players, take some of the experience that I’ve got and apply it and hopefully try to get this thing turned around. It feels like the Ryder Cup has been like a European party for about 15 years now or more. I’d like to change that.”
When Woods turned down the position for 2025, many thought the PGA of America would offer Cink, who was an assistant captain in 2023, the role. Then, the 2009 British Open champion was blindsided after a phone interview with U.S. team manager John Wood early last year.
“I thought it went well, but I haven’t received one word since then,” Cink, who played in five Ryder Cups, told Golfweek. “Never got a call back that said we’re going in another direction. All I know is at the end of the conversation, it sounded like, ‘Things look pretty good for you.’ Never heard another word.”
Of course, Cink, 52, was disappointed when Bradley was selected, but there were no hard feelings.
“I was gutted. I thought I had a pretty good shot at it,” Cink said. “It’s not a selfish thing, though; I want the team to be the best team it can be.”
However, there was constant noise this year when Bradley, 39, was putting together a strong case to be on the team. But if Cink ever gets the opportunity to be captain, he doesn’t see the same storyline occurring.
“I thought the PGA [of America] got themselves into a mess this year because Keegan was one of our top 12 players and because he was captain, they kind of prevented him from playing,” Cink said. “I don’t have any desire or designs to think that I will be on the next team. So, we can remove that topic right away. But I’m not that far removed from playing out there every week and the majors and even winning tournaments.”
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