In the latest fallout from Tiger Woods’ car crash, the 15-time major champion will not be the U.S. captain for the 2027 Ryder Cup.

The PGA of America delivered the news via a statement on Wednesday, saying that Woods had “shared with us that he will not serve” as captain for the U.S. team next year.

The decision ends months of speculation over whether Tiger would finally take the reins of the U.S. Ryder Cup team. It also leaves the PGA of America and the U.S. team without a captain with only 18 months to go until the 2027 event in Ireland.

PGA: Tiger withdraws from Ryder Cup captain job for 2027

Not long after the European team completed their second-straight Ryder Cup victory over the U.S. team at Bethpage Black, one thing was clear, though unofficial.

If Tiger Woods wanted to be the U.S. captain at the 2027 Ryder Cup at Adare Manor, the job was his. Given his busy schedule and recovery from surgery, it was never a sure thing that Woods would take the job.

But with the event inching ever closer, a decision was expected soon. We may never know what Woods intended to do.

On Friday, March 27, Woods was involved in a rollover crash near his home in Jupiter, Fla., and arrested and charged with DUI. Woods later pled not guilty to the charges.

Then on March 31, Woods announced he would be “stepping away” from golf and public life to “seek treatment and focus on my health.”

At that point, the Ryder Cup captaincy question was still up in the air, but the PGA of America provided us with an answer on Wednesday.

In a statement released on social media, the PGA of America confirmed Woods had decided not to take the U.S. Ryder Cup captain job.

“Tiger has shared with us that he will not serve as Captain of the 2027 U.S. Ryder Cup Team and we support his decision,” the statement read.

“The PGA of America stands in full support of Tiger Woods as he steps away to focus on his health and well-being. During this time, we are keeping Tiger in our thoughts and prayers, with sincere hope for his strength, comfort, and recovery. Tiger has meant so much to our Association and to the game of golf.”

The PGA also commended Woods “for prioritizing his long-term health” and said they “deeply respect the courage it takes to make such a personal decision.”

The recent car crash aside, this episode closely resembles the process the PGA underwent to choose the U.S. Ryder Cup captain for 2025. Woods was a top candidate for the job last year as well.

But in the end, Woods informed the PGA he would not accept the 2025 captaincy. Keegan Bradley took his spot.

In a statement read during the press conference announcing Bradley’s captaincy, Woods said, “With my new responsibilities to the [PGA] Tour and time commitments involved I felt I would not be able to commit the time to Team USA and the players required as a captain.”

He added, “That does not mean I wouldn’t want to captain a team in the future. If/when I feel it is the right time, I will put my hat in the ring for this committee to decide.”

Now we’ll have to wait another two years to find out if the 2029 Ryder Cup is the one where Woods finally serves as captain.

But now there’s a more pressing question. With Tiger out of the running, who will be the 2027 U.S. Ryder Cup captain? The captain crisis comes at a time when the Americans are desperate for some strong leadership. Fresh off an embarrassing defeat on U.S. soil, the team’s second-straight Ryder Cup loss, the U.S. needs a win. But they need a captain first.

The European team has no such problem. Luke Donald has already been announced as the European captain. He’s hard at work preparing to bring his team a third-straight victory in 2027.

You can read the PGA of America’s full statement below.

PGA of America full statement on Tiger Woods’ Ryder Cup captaincy

The PGA of America stands in full support of Tiger Woods as he steps away to focus on his health and well-being. During this time, we are keeping Tiger in our thoughts and prayers, with sincere hope for his strength, comfort, and recovery. Tiger has meant so much to our Association and to the game of golf. Since his Ryder Cup debut in 1997, he has been an enduring part of the PGA of America family. His connection to our PGA of America Golf Professionals, and his lasting impact on the sport, have inspired generations and profoundly shaped the game. We commend Tiger for prioritizing his long-term health and deeply respect the courage it takes to make such a personal decision. Tiger has shared with us that he will not serve as Captain of the 2027 U.S. Ryder Cup Team and we support his decision. The PGA of America will share further updates regarding the Ryder Cup captaincy when appropriate. – PGA of America

Tiger Woods, following a two-car crash last Friday that led to his DUI arrest, said Tuesday night that he is “stepping away” to seek treatment and “focus on my health.”

The 15-time major winner’s announcement came over X, in a two-paragraph release. It read as follows: 

“I know and understand the seriousness of the situation I find myself in today. I am stepping away for a period of time to seek treatment and focus on my health. This is necessary in order for me to prioritize my well-being and work toward lasting recovery. 

“I’m committed to taking the time needed to return in a healthier, stronger and more focused place, both personally and professionally. I appreciate your understanding and support, and ask for privacy for my family, loved ones and myself at this time.”

Nine minutes later, the PGA Tour released statements both from the league and its CEO, Brian Rolapp. Along with being a member of the tour, Woods had been working as the head of the organization’s newly formed Future Competition Committee. 

Below is the statement from Rolapp:

“Tiger Woods is one of the most influential figures the sports world has ever known. 

“Over the last year, I have come to deeply appreciate Tiger not only for his impact on the game, but for his friendship and the perspective he has shared with me as I joined the golf industry. 

“My thoughts are with him and his family as he takes this step, for which he has my full respect and support.”

Below is the statement from the PGA Tour:

“Tiger Woods is a legend of our sport whose impact extends far beyond his achievements on the course. But above all else, Tiger is a person, and our focus is on his health and well‑being. Tiger continues to have our full support as he takes this important step.”

The three statements come four days after Woods was involved in the crash, which happened near his home on Jupiter Island, Fla. According to the Martin County sheriff on Friday, Woods had tried to pass a truck, clipped it, and his SUV flipped onto its driver side. After officers arrived, DUI investigators conducted tests, Woods showed “signs of impairment,” and he was arrested. At the Martin County Jail, Woods took a breathalyzer test and showed no trace of alcohol, but he refused a urinalysis test, leading to misdemeanor DUI charges. Neither Woods nor the other driver involved was injured.  

Late Friday night, Woods posted bond and was released from the prison. On Tuesday afternoon, Woods pleaded not guilty to the charges, according to court documents obtained by GOLF.com, and a court hearing is scheduled for April 23. Woods has also retained the services of Douglas Duncan, an attorney who served on his 2017 DUI case after Woods was found asleep at the wheel of his car and tested positive for five substances in a toxicology report. Ultimately, two of the three misdemeanor charges against Woods were dropped in that case, and he pleaded guilty only to reckless driving.

Earlier Tuesday, the Martin County Sheriff’s Office released additional details on the arrest and crash. According to the report obtained by GOLF.com, two white pills were found in Woods’ left pant pocket, which were marked as Hydrocodone, an opioid commonly used for pain treatment. Woods said that he takes “a few” types of medication and had taken prescribed medicine that morning. Multiple medicines were redacted from the report. 

The report also said that Woods said he was looking down at his phone and changing the radio station at the time of the accident. After investigating the crash, Martin County Sheriff Deputy Tatiana Levenar noted that Woods was “sweating profusely,” and though he was “lethargic and slow,” he was alert throughout the investigation. Levenar also said that Woods walked with a limp but also stumbled.

Friday’s crash and the 2017 incident are two of four incidents involving Woods inside a car. In 2021, Woods was involved in a one-car crash outside of Los Angeles, sustained multiple injuries, and was hospitalized for three weeks following surgery. In a statement at the time, a doctor said Woods “suffered significant orthopedic injuries to his right lower extremity that were treated during emergency surgery.” The injuries included “comminuted open fractures” in the tibia and fibula, requiring a rod to be inserted into the leg. In November of 2009, Woods crashed his SUV into a fire hydrant and tree outside of his home and was cited for careless driving.

According to Woods’ statement, it was unclear what treatment he would seek, and how long he would be away from golf. Next week, an event Woods has won five times, the Masters, is set to start, and Woods has said he would be on the grounds at Augusta National, though it was unknown whether he would have played after he had undergone a back procedure last October. Woods was also supposed to be in attendance at Augusta Municipal Golf Course after helping with the course’s recent redesign. 

Woods has not played tournament golf since the 2024 Open Championship. Three days before Friday’s crash, he played with his team in TGL, the simulator-based league he co-founded.

It has been an open secret in the tight circle around Tiger Woods for years: If you want to have a serious conversation with Woods — about his charity and architecture work; about the future of the PGA Tour; about his 15 wins in Grand Slam events — you do it in the morning. Woods, famously, is a poor sleeper and an early riser. The broad picture you get, from people in position to know, is that if you’re in the circle, you can get him early. As his days wear on, Woods becomes less available and less predictable. This is not idle, mean-spirited speculation. More like observations borne in care, if not worry.

At around 2 p.m. Friday, Woods flipped his Range Rover on narrow, two-lane Beach Road, near his home on Jupiter Island, in South Florida. He “blew zeroes,” in the parlance of DWI investigations — he had not been drinking. He refused to submit a urine sample but police officers surmised that he was on prescribed drugs to address the pain from his many surgeries and back issues.

The officers saw what they saw and heard what they heard. Woods was arrested on a misdemeanor charge of driving under the influence — the influence of something. He was taken to the Martin County jail, where he spent at least eight hours, as county law requires in these scenarios. At around 10 p.m., Woods’s mug shot began circulating on social media.

As the Martin County sheriff described the accident scene with clear-eyed professionalism, Woods tried to pass a truck towing a pressure-washer heading north on narrow residential road with no shoulders and a 30 mile-an-hour speed limit. The truck driver was about to turn into a driveway. Woods, in the sheriff’s description, caught a back corner of the trailer with the passenger side of his Range Rover, causing the SUV to rollover 90 degrees, so that the driver’s side doors were face down on the road. Woods escaped the vehicle by way of the passenger door. There were no injuries. Had the vehicles been going in opposite directions, “this could have been a lot worse,” said the sheriff, John Budensiek. Both for Woods and the other driver.

If this all sounds depressingly familiar, it’s because it is. In 2017, Woods was arrested by Jupiter Police department in South Florida at about 3 in the morning on a DUI charge. He was found asleep and incoherent on the side of four-lane road, about 10 miles south of the scene of his Friday crash. He spent that night in the Palm Beach County Jail. A breath test that night revealed that Woods had not been drinking but a blood test revealed he had five prescription drugs in his bloodstream.

In 2021, about 22 months after his stirring win in the 2019 Masters, early on a dry weekday morning in Southern California, Woods drove off a rural road, over a median, across two lanes and down a ravine. His vehicle was stopped by a tree, pirouetted and flipped. Woods’s injuries were extensive and his golfing life was permanently compromised. Asked once in a press conference to explain the incident, Woods said tersely, “It’s all in the police report.” But police reports revealed nothing about Woods’s state of mind in the single-vehicle crash. A report did indicate that, per the car’s black-box recording device, Woods had the gas pedal virtually floored through the incident, driving well over 80 miles an hour in a 45-mph zone. Los Angeles County police officials did not test Woods for drugs or alcohol and no arrest was made.

In 2008, in the middle of a night during the Thanksgiving weekend holiday, Woods ran over a hydrant outside his home in the gated Isleworth housing development. There were no tests for drugs or alcohol in that incident, either. The crash rendered Woods bleeding and unconscious. In the weeks and months to come his private life was exposed for the world to see.

Looking at these four incidents, it is easy and convenient to say what Woods needs is a full-time driver. That may be true, but Woods is a deeply controlling person. You almost never see Woods as a passenger. Leaving and arriving from hundreds of tournaments over the years, Woods is almost always the person doing the driving. It’s hard to imagine Woods with a chauffeur, and he’s been incredibly lucky not to have hurt others in these incidents. But when you do some rough human math on these four events, you reach the same conclusion again and again: It’s not easy, being Tiger Woods.

It’s not easy being an inherently shy person who is one of the most famous people in the world. It’s not easy leading a public life when your private life has been revealed to the world. It’s not easy being a single father even when you have all the financial resources in the world. It’s not easy becoming singularly talented at one difficult thing — playing tournament golf like nobody before has ever played it — and then to have to find meaning in your life when that chapter of your life is over.

There is unlikely to be a consequential legal event here, as a result of this Friday arrest. It wouldn’t be surprising to see Woods still show up at the Champions Dinner at Augusta National in less than two weeks. His m.o. has always been move on, move on, move on. Tiger Woods is 50 years old. Like all of us, he has no promised tomorrows. He is in charge of his own life as all of us are in charge of our own lives. He’s always putting up a brave front. There are holes in it. We can see them. It doesn’t matter what we can see. What matters is what he can see.

Michael Bamberger welcomes your comments at Michael.Bamberger@Golf.com.

Check in every week for the unfiltered opinions of our writers and editors as they break down the hottest topics in the sport, and join the conversation by tweeting us at @golf_com. This week, we break down Scottie Scheffler’s latest historic achievement and a strange Patrick Reed revelation.

Scottie Scheffler kicked off his 2026 season just as you might have imagined: with another victory. Scheffler shot a final-round 66 to win the American Express by four and claim his 20th career PGA Tour win. What did you think of Scheffler’s season debut? And if you are the rest of the Tour, what are you thinking?

Alan Bastable, executive editor (@alan_bastable): Forget what I think. How about what the 18-year-old playing alongside Scheffler on Sunday thinks! “One of the coolest things that I learned today was how underrated Scottie Scheffler’s short game is,” Blades Brown said after his buzz-kill fourth-round 74. “To see it in person and just to look at kind of the trajectory and the spin, and just the control that he has with his wedges and short game. Obviously his putting is insane too. It was really cool to watch.” I would concur — Scheffler’s 1.18 putts per green Sunday was best in the field. His 9 birdies were also impressive. Every time I looked up, it seemed Scheffler was spinning a wedge back to within four feet of the hole. Looked like a Golden Tee round. What is the rest of the Tour thinking? Probably. . . [sigh] here we go again.  

James Colgan, news and features editor (@jamescolgan26): I know this deserves like a thousand qualifiers, because the American Express is historically one of the easiest tournaments relative to par, but Scottie won in a way we’ve never seen on Sunday. He didn’t just outweather his opponents; he outgunned them. He made nine birdies, and eight of them were converted from inside of five feet (!!!). He’s the third player ever (behind Tiger and Jack) to 20 wins and 4 majors before his 30th birthday — and to everyone else in golf, that should be … terrifying.

Josh Sens, senior writer, (@joshsens). To me, this looked like more of the same. A golfer with no physical weaknesses whose mental game is every bit as good. In this, a relatively low-wattage event, Scheffler proved again that unlike some other big guns in the game, he never takes a week off.

Scheffler won six times last year and seven the year before. If you are Vegas and deciding the over/under line for Scheffler wins in 2026, what are you setting it at?

Bastable: Feels like cheating given we already have one. Can he win five more? Of course! Six more? Maybe. Seven more would bring us to Tiger territory (TW won eight times in both 1999 and 2006). And eight more would bring us to Vijay Singh (2004) and Tiger again (2000) territory. Feels like a big ask. We’re setting the o/u at 6. What say ye, colleagues?!   

Colgan: Agreed, Basty. Six is the only rational number. But great athletes teach us to believe in the irrational. I don’t think eight is out of the question.

Sens: If the line is six, I’m all in on the over. One down already, with –if his past schedule repeats–upwards of 15 to 20 starts remaining? I’ll be collecting my money by late August.

Besides Scheffler taking control of the tournament, it was 18-year-old Blades Brown who made headlines earlier in the week. He received a sponsor’s exemption and made his 10th career PGA Tour start, shot 60 on Friday and was one off the lead after 54-holes before shooting 74 Sunday and falling out of the top 10. Was this finish an outlier? Or is Blades a name golf fans should expect to see more of?

Bastable: Outlier? Hardly! He’d already made three PGA Tour cuts heading into this week at an age at which most of his peers are less worried about staring down Scottie Scheffler on a Sunday afternoon than they are about prepping for their next pre-calc exam or landing a prom date. Blades sounds like he’s in full sponge mode. On Sunday evening, he said he could “write a book about what I’ve learned these past couple of days.” In pro golf, 18 is the new 28. There’s little reason to think we won’t see Blades playing more meaningful weekend golf on the PGA Tour this year.

Colgan: The finish wasn’t an outlier. Blades is a name that fans should remember. BUT — and there is a “but” — Sunday was a lesson in how much separates him from consistent PGA Tour success. I’m unbelievably impressed that, at 18 years old, his ceiling is already up there with the best in the sport. But careers are built on raising your floor.

Sens: Blades is no fluke. A name like that is destiny. Guess I shouldn’t have named my son “Shanks.” Poor kid never stood a chance.

Patrick Reed, days before he won the Dubai Desert Classic, told The Telegraph he’d consider rejoining the PGA Tour if allowed. Then, on Sunday morning, he revealed he has yet to re-sign with LIV Golf — whose season begins in less than two weeks. The Tour’s Returning Member Program specifically created pathways for major winners of the past four years, which Reed doesn’t fall under. Why wouldn’t the Tour be interested in Reed rejoining?

Bastable: Who says they’re not?! I think Brian Rolapp and Co. are interested in welcoming back any player who makes PGA Tour fields stronger and LIV fields weaker. Yes, the current framing of the RMP precludes a Reed return, but rules, as the PGA Tour has been proving of late, are made to be broken — or, at the very least, altered. Who knows where we’ll be in a year? When asked Sunday if he’s been talking to the PGA Tour, Reed said, “Not right now,” which suggests conversations have been happening. I, for one, miss P-Reed. However you feel about the guy, he makes tournaments more interesting.       

Colgan: That whole P-Reed back-and-forth was SO weird. If we’ve learned one thing from the Brooks and Bryson situations, it’s that LIV contracts are like every other negotiation — they’re all about leverage! Why is Reed surrendering his leverage by keeping his free agency a secret? I have no idea. But if his PGA Tour return odds are hampered, I’d bet it’s because he’s been operating under the cover of darkness.

Sens: Golf’s civil war is also a zero-sum game. I’m sure the Tour would be interested in getting Reed back for that reason. A win for Ponte Vedra equals a loss for LIV, and the other way around. My guess is that we won’t see that this year. He’s already exempt into the Masters, his world ranking is now solidly inside the top 50, and he’s just improved his market value in any negotiations with LIV. That’s another way of saying that he can likely have his cake and eat it too, resigning for big money without necessarily missing out on the majors.

Speaking of the Returning Member Program, next up on Tour is the Farmers Insurance Open where Brooks Koepka will make his long-awaited return to the PGA Tour. What are you most looking forward to hearing from Koepka about, and how do you expect him to play in his first start?

Bastable: I’m not sure we’ll get a whole lot from him — in the press tent, anyway. I would expect focused, tight-lipped Koepka in San Diego. And who knows what we’ll see on the course? The dirty little secret about Brooks is . . . he has not been playing well. He had just two top-10s on LIV in 2025 and both came in his first four starts. In his last four starts he finished no better than T29. Maybe he was unmotivated. Maybe he was distracted by personal issues. Maybe he was dreaming of his PGA Tour return. Hard to know with Brooks. What we do know is he has much to prove. Would it surprise me if he contends? It would not.  

Colgan: I’ve heard a few of Brooks’ LIV counterparts mention Koepka’s personal situation was a key component of his decision to return. I’m not expecting him to clue us in, but it would be nice to hear his on-the-record reasoning for returning to the Tour.

Sens: I’m trying to remember the last time I heard something truly revealing in a press conference. I don’t expect that to change when Koepka steps to the podium. But I expect him to play well, recent form be damned. If ever there was a guy who can turn it off and then back on when it matters to him, it’s Koepka.