While Europe are in a settled state as they target a third Ryder Cup success in a row under Luke Donald at Adare Manor next year, the identity of the United States captain remains a mystery after Tiger Woods withdrew himself from consideration for the role.
Woods had been thought to be the preferred target for the PGA of America as they seek to win back the biennial prize, but declined the opportunity after being arrested for driving under the influence last week after his involvement in a car accident.
The 50-year-old has stepped away from golf to prioritise his health and well-being and further reduces the options available to succeed Keegan Bradley after a heavy defeat at Bethpage Black last year.
While a reprisal of his role cannot entirely be ruled out, Bradley appears unlikely to earn a second chance at captaincy after how badly things went for the hosts in New York, leaving an intriguing array of possible candidates.
Here are five names who could be in the frame to captain the United States in 2027:
Steve Stricker
Bradley’s missteps at Bethpage Black may well remove him from contention but could the United States still look to a familiar face as skipper? If they do, Stricker would surely be strongly placed after captaining them to a dominant success at Whistling Straits in 2021. Well liked by that group, the majority of those involved in Wisconsin could well be back again for the trip to Ireland – an away Ryder Cup would pose a significantly greater challenge than an event on home soil held without travelling fans due to Covid, but Stricker might be a popular pick.
Stewart Cink
Cink was a five-time Ryder Cupper as a player, winning just one of those outings, but has a calmness and clout that would serve him well. A popular figure but unpopular major winner after denying Tom Watson at Turnberry in 2009, Cink has previously indicated a desire to take on the captaincy one day and his game is still in good order on the Seniors Tour, where he is racking up wins to show he still has a competitive edge.
Brandt Snedeker
Perhaps the favourite for the role, Snedeker served as one of Bradley’s vice-captains last year and will lead the United States at the Presidents Cup at Medinah in September. While the preference, generally, is not to immediately take on Ryder Cup duties, it would surely make some sense for Snedeker to roll right in to preparations for Adare Manor if he is happy to. One stumbling block might be his playing commitments: Snedeker is still a PGA Tour regular and looked in good touch at the Valspar Championship, despite a tricky final round.
Webb Simpson
Another of Bradley’s losing lieutenants last year, it perhaps feels a little soon for Simpson to be under consideration for the top role. The 40-year-old has a wise head on (relatively) young shoulders, though, and has been on the PGA Tour player board in recent years. Of the rest of the vice-captains at Bethpage Black: Kevin Kisner has a burgeoning media career that he may wish to prioritise; the time of Jim Furyk, the 2018 captain, may have been and gone; and Gary Woodland could have designs on making the team as a player after an emotional, pleasing triumph at the Houston Open.
Justin Leonard
Though perhaps more disconnected from current Tour players than the other names on this list, Leonard would nonetheless have plenty of backers. The scenes that followed that putt at Brookline in 1999 may have tainted the memory of a magic moment somewhat, but there can be no denying Leonard’s legacy in the event. He, incidentally, was the choice of Brandel Chamblee even before Woods ruled himself out of contention. ““The right thing to do is make Justin Leonard the captain,” Chamblee said to the Dan on Golf podcast. “He’s handled himself with class, is really thoughtful. He comes closest in all of those metrics – tangibles and intangibles – to being [successful 2014 European captain] Paul McGinley, to me.”
