Tiger Woods has confirmed he will sit down for talks with PGA of America CEO, Seth Waugh about potentially becoming Team USA's Ryder Cup captain at Bethpage Black in 2025 - but not until the 48-year-old has finished his week at The Masters.
Woods has been tipped by plenty of journalists and fans to follow on from Zach Johnson in the top job when the famous biennial tournament returns to North American shores next year, but very little has been publicly discussed by Team USA's Ryder Cup committee.
As well as Waugh and recent captain, Johnson, the six-member team in charge of choosing the Americans' next leader consists of PGA president, John Lindert and vice president, Don Rea as well as PGA Tour players Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas.
And despite the Ryder Cup points window not opening until after this year's Majors have been completed, that has not stopped questions being directed Woods' way about whether he could be the man to lead a 12-man squad into battle against the Europeans in September 2025.
Asked what his current position is regarding the Ryder Cup captaincy at Bethpage, Woods replied: "We're still talking about it. (Smiling)."
The follow-up question of "is it linked to how much you're going to play golf?" caused Woods to say: "It's something that Seth and I are going to sit back and talk about it after this event.
"I said I'm going to be busy for a couple weeks, so let me focus on getting through this week and hopefully getting another jacket, and then we can sit back and talk about it next week."
As a player, Woods has competed in 37 Ryder Cup matches, winning just 13, losing 21, and picking up a half in three. His overall success rate with Team USA is extremely poor, though, having claimed victory in only one of his eight call-ups.
That record is almost the complete opposite of Luke Donald's, who has already been confirmed as Team Europe's Ryder Cup captain for Bethpage in 2025 following a sparkling debut at Marco Simone.
Donald, both as a player and as a skipper, has only ever won the Ryder Cup - four victories with club in hand and one in his first attempt leading Team Europe. His individual record as a competitor is strong too, with 10 match wins, four losses, and one half.
Speaking about the challenges of facing Team USA at Bethpage in 2025 after being confirmed as Team Europe's boss once more, Donald said: “I think playing away brings different approaches and different challenges.
“Again, you’re going to have to deal with the crowd; you’re going to have to deal with the U.S. setting up the golf course. There are things that we had control of that we certainly don't have control of this time.”
