If Tiger Woods doesn’t captain Team USA at 2025 Ryder Cup, who will?

Earlier this year, Tiger Woods said he and PGA of America CEO Seth Waugh were going to talk after the 2024 Masters about his potential Ryder Cup captain candidacy for the 2025 matches at Bethpage Black in New York.

At the recent 2024 PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club, Woods was asked once again about his status for the biennial bash against Team Europe next year.

“We’re still talking. There’s nothing that has been confirmed yet. We’re still working on what that might look like. Also whether or not I have the time to do it. I’m dedicating my so much time to what we’re doing with the PGA Tour, I don’t want to not fulfill the role of the captaincy if I can’t do it,” said Woods, who’s on the board for both PGA Tour and PGA Tour Enterprises. He’s also on a subcomittee to negotiate a deal with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund. “What that all entails and representing Team USA and the commitments to the PGA of America, the players, and the fans and as I said, all of Team USA. I need to feel that I can give the amount of time that it deserves.”

“We have had conversations for months. We have also had conversations at the Ryder Cup Committee, multiple conversations about potential captains and a list of potential captains,” said Waugh in response to Woods at the PGA. “You know, Tiger, he’s been pretty clear. I think we all know that he can be pretty focused, and that’s one of his many superpowers is that ability to sort of tunnel and decide. And he doesn’t do anything that he’s not fully committed to, and we totally respect that. And he’s got a lot on his plate right now. He’s very active, obviously, on the Tour side of things. We want to give him and the committee space to decide, you know, decide how it plays out.”

Woods has long been thought to be a guarantee to captain the Americans on Long Island, but his comments, as well as those made by Waugh, don’t inspire much confidence. Waugh said putting an artificial date or timeline on the decision isn’t something the organization will do, but did say he and Woods would “re-engage” soon.

So, if Woods won’t be the guy guiding Team USA at Bethpage, who will? Here’s a list of some other potential candidates to captain the U.S. squad at the 2025 Ryder Cup.