News
Tiger Woods removes himself from Ryder Cup consideration
Our long national nightmare is over: The Tiger Woods Ryder Cup decision has been made.
The 38-year-old announced Wednesday that he was withdrawing himself from consideration for a spot in the Ryder Cup, ending months of speculation as to whether U.S. Captain Tom Watson would grant Woods a captain’s pick.
In a statement released on his website, Woods cited necessary rest for his lingering back issue as the reason for his absence in the biennial competition.
“I’ve been told by my doctors and trainer that my back muscles need to be rehabilitated and healed. They’ve advised me not to play or practice now…I plan to return to competition at my World Challenge tournament at Isleworth in Orlando, Florida, Dec. 1-7.”
This is the latest blow for Woods in a season where the former World No. 1’s on-course life has been crippled by his ailing back. Just a year ago, Woods won five PGA Tour events, entered the FedExCup Playoffs as the points leader and eventually captured PGA Tour Player of the Year honors.
Early in 2014, though, Woods’ back started flaring up, forcing him to withdraw from the Honda Classic during the final round and gut it out on Sunday at the WGC-Cadillac Championship in clear discomfort.
In March, Woods had surgery on his back, missed three months and looked every bit the rusty golfer since his return in July. The four events in that span, which amounted to two missed cuts, one withdrawal and a 69th place finish, only furthered his dismal 2014 record. In the end, Woods had one top-25 in seven starts and was 218th in the FedEx Cup standings.
What this means for the U.S. squad
The most relieved man on the planet has to be Tom Watson. It’s not necessarily the content of Woods’ words, rather the fact that the monumentally polarizing decision is in the captain’s hands no more.
Whatever calm facade Watson put on when the discussion of Woods and the Ryder Cup arose, his anxiety screamed through his words. In April he had all but guaranteed a spot to Woods. Then he said Woods would have to earn his way on. Last week, he basically left it up to Tiger to decide his fate.
Make up your mind, Tom!
At the very least, the American squad probably dodged a bullet. Woods showed no signs this Summer that he could contribute to a win for his country – he could hardly make a cut. Although the Americans remain massive underdogs, what if his American brethren do somehow dodge the European sword and return to the states as victors? Eyes will most certainly turn back towards Woods. In 21st century play, the American side would be 0-5 with Woods, 2-0 without him.
And that fact wouldn’t kick up a firestorm or anything.
Everyone knows about Woods’ poor Ryder Cup record (13-17-3 overall). His negative energy might eminate into his teammates’ conciousnesses. And he consistently carries the reputation of a man who just doesn’t give a lick about team play (a ridiculous thought by the way. You could certainly question Woods’ desire for this type of competition early in his career, but that apathy evaporated long ago. Here’s some proof. And more damning evidence. Oh, and this. Yep, definitely not caring).
He’s an easy target to pick on when it comes to America’s foibles in recent Ryder Cups. Woods was the game’s best player for 15-plus years, but couldn’t reach .500 in team competition. He also happened to be absent for the U.S.’s one 21st century triumph. That detail proved potent rather quickly, as writers and fans latched onto the concept that the team is better off without Woods.
Imagine if a Tiger-less squad achieves victory once again? Especially with the Americans facing their most daunting odds since 2006?
If you’re a future captain and Woods is a potential captain’s pick, good luck with that decision over a massive and boisterous chorus of dissent. We could hear some imploring that Woods should retire from Ryder Cup competition. Heck, even if the 38-year-old is No. 1 in the Ryder Cup standings, the U.S. only wins without him, maybe he should withdraw his name!
Of course, an American victory is a tremendous “if.” The team can’t even win with better talent, or a commanding 10-6 lead at home.
Woods’ absence in 2014 should be a boon for the squad. Just be prepared for a Tiger backlash if the winning formula once again ignores his existence.
With the second major of 2026 now behind us, the PGA Tour arrives in Texas for the CJ Cup Byron Nelson.
GolfWRX Tour Photographer, Greg Moore, is on site at TPC Craig Ranch in McKinney, Texas, and he’s already captured several WITBs and a look at some new colorways of just-spotted L.A.B. Golf VZN.1i putters.
Check out links to all our photos below.
General Albums
- 2026 CJ Cup Byron Nelson – Monday #1
- 2026 CJ Cup Byron Nelson – Monday #2
- 2026 CJ Cup Byron Nelson – Monday #3
WITB Albums
- Brennan Little (Gary Woodland’s caddy) – WITB – 2026 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Adam Svensson – WITB – 2026 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Martin Laird – WITB – 2026 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Lee Hodges – WITB – 2026 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Aaron Wise – WITB – 2026 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Dylan Wu – WITB – 2026 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- AJ Ewart – WITB – 2026 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
Pullout Albums
- New Graphite Design Tour AD shafts – 2026 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- L.A.B. Golf VZN.1i putters (new colors) – 2026 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
See what GolfWRXers are saying and join the discussion in the forums.
Aaron Rai upset the odds to win his first major championship on Sunday at Aronimink, firing a final round of 5-under par to see off his competitors and claim the winner’s check for $3,690,000.
Jon Rahm and Alex Smalley were the best of the chasing pack, with both men sharing runner-up spot which was good enough for each to receive a check for $1,804,000.
With a total prize purse of $20.5 million up for grabs, here’s a look at how much each player won at the 2026 PGA Championship.
Players who missed the PGA Championship cut each received $4,300 each.
1: Aaron Rai, $3,690,000
T2 : Jon Rahm, $1,804,000
T2 : Alex Smalley, $1,804,000
T4: Justin Thomas, $843,866
T4: Ludvig Aberg, $843,866
T4: Matti Schmid, $843,866
T7: Cameron Smith, $637,050
T7: Rory McIlroy, $637,050
T7: Xander Schauffele, $637,050
T10: Kurt Kitayama, $496,707
T10: Chris Gotterup, $496,707
T10: Justin Rose, $496,707
T10: Patrick Reed, $496,707
T14: Matt Fitzpatrick, $364,762
T14: Scottie Scheffler, $364,762
T14: Max Greyserman, $364,762
T14: Ben Griffin, $364,762
T18: Maverick McNealy, $229,128
T18: Jordan Spieth, $229,128
T18: Stephan Jaeger, $229,128
T18: Padraigh Harrington, $229,128
T18: David Puig, $229,128
T18: Harris English, $229,128
T18: Min Woo Lee, $229,128
T18: Joaquin Niemann, $229,128
T26: Nick Taylor, $125,523
T26: Alex Noren, $125,523
T26: Cameron Young, $125,523
T26: Andrew Novak, $125,523
T-26: Daniel Hiller, $125,523
T26: Tom Hoge, $125,523
T26: Sam Burns, $125,523
T26: Hideki Matsuyama, $125,523
T26: Bud Cauley, $125,523
T35: Christiaan Bezuidenhout, $78,805
T35: Patrick Cantlay, $78,805
T35: Ryo Hisatsune, $78,805
T35: Daniel Berger, $78,805
T35: Ryan Fox, $78,805
T35: Haotong Li, $78,805
T35: Aldrich Potgieter, $78,805
T35: Si Woo Kim, $78,805
T35: Martin Kaymer, $78,805
T44: Chris Kirk, $53,743
T44: Matt Wallace, $53,743
T44: Shane Lowry, $53,743
T44: Jhonattan Vegas, $53,743
T44: Denny McCarthy, $53,743
T44: Chandler Blachet, $53,743
T44: Taylor Pendrith, $53,743
T44: Dustin Johnson, $53,743
T44: Nicolai Hojgaard, $53,743
T44: Michael Kim, $53,743
T44: Kristoffer Reitan, $53,743
T55: Collin Morikawa, $34,186
T55: Corey Conners, $34,186
T55: Andrew Putnam, $34,186
T55: Brooks Koepka, $34,186
T55: Mikael Lindberg, $34,186
T60: Sami Valimaki, $29,218
T60: Sahith Theegala, $29,218
T60: Rico Hoey, $29,218
T60: Rickie Fowler, $29,218
T60: Brian Harman, $29,218
T65: Casey Jarvis, $26,900
T65: Jason Day, $26,900
T65: Rasmus Hojgaard, $26,900
T65: Keith Mitchell, $26,900
T65: Sam Stevens, $26,900
Justin Rose WITB 2026 (April): Full WITB breakdown with new McLaren irons
RBC Heritage Tour Report: More minis, course-specific setups, Spider & GTS launches
What’s the story behind Webb Simpson’s custom-stamped irons?
Cadillac Championship Tour Report: Spieth’s sizable changes, McLaren Golf launches, and more
Kristoffer Reitan’s winning WITB: 2026 Truist Championship
Cameron Young’s winning WITB: 2026 Cadillac Championship
Aaron Rai’s winning WITB: 2026 PGA Championship
Nelly Korda WITB 2026 (April)
Justin Rose on the switch to McLaren Golf, learnings from previous equipment moves
Photos from the 2026 PGA Championship
Patrick Reed WITB 2026 (May)
Driver: Titleist GT3 (9 degrees) Buy here. Shaft: Aldila Rogue Silver 130 M.S.I. 70 TX 3-wood: TaylorMade Qi35 (15 degrees)...
Aaron Rai’s winning WITB: 2026 PGA Championship
Driver: TaylorMade M6 (9 degrees) Shaft: Aldilda Synergy Blue 70 TX 3-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 (15 degrees) Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Blue...
Michael Block WITB 2026 (May)
Driver: TaylorMade Qi4D (9 degrees) Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black VeloCore+ 5 X 3-wood: TaylorMade Qi4D (15 degrees @14.25) Shaft: Mitsubishi...
Bryson DeChambeau WITB 2026 (May)
Driver: Krank Formula Fire Pro (6 degrees) Shaft: Project X Prototype 3-wood: Krank Formula Fire (10 degrees) Shaft: LA Golf BAD...
-
Whats in the Bag3 weeks agoKristoffer Reitan’s winning WITB: 2026 Truist Championship
-
Whats in the Bag2 weeks ago
Aaron Rai’s winning WITB: 2026 PGA Championship
-
Tour Photo Galleries3 weeks agoPhotos from the 2026 PGA Championship
-
Equipment2 weeks agoGolfWRX Launch Report: 2026 Titleist GTS drivers
-
Equipment2 weeks agoPGA Championship Tour Report: Fitzpatrick, Koepka among big-name putter switches for Aronimink
-
News2 weeks agoWITB Time Machine: Phil Mickelson’s winning WITB, 2021 PGA Championship
-
Equipment2 weeks agoWhich of Tiger’s major winning irons are your favorite? – GolfWRXers discuss
-
Equipment2 weeks agoLead Tape Report: Adjusting the swingweight of the Wanamaker Trophy
Skin Flute
Aug 19, 2014 at 6:50 pm
Anybody wanna play me!
That’s right, who wants to play “The Skin Flute”
Booger
Aug 15, 2014 at 1:16 am
Like he had a chance of getting picked. There’s only 60 guys with more points that would love to get picked. Thanks for the announcement. What a jerk!
John
Aug 15, 2014 at 12:22 am
Ryan Moore should definitely be picked. He has been very consistent this year. Tom Watson would have been wise for himself to play rather than Tiger.
John
Aug 15, 2014 at 12:20 am
Anybody who thinks the USA has a chance is fooling themselves. Half our team is injured, and the Europeans have been dominating the marquee events. No way we can compete, especially on their soil. Ill be rooting for the USA, but im also going to be smart and invest on the Europe odds of 2/3
Pingback: Tiger Woods removes himself from Ryder Cup consideration | Spacetimeandi.com
dot dot
Aug 14, 2014 at 7:54 pm
So he withdrew himself from consideration for a team that he wasn’t going to be selected for anyway. Hey Tom, I’m withdrawing myself from consideration as well. See how that works, neither mine or Tigers withdrawal effects anything.
Rich
Aug 14, 2014 at 6:20 pm
Darn it. I wanted to see him crash and burn at Gleneagles so bad. GO EUROPE!
Christosterone
Aug 14, 2014 at 7:35 pm
This is going to be a great Ryder Cup.
Europe will have its stalwarts such as Garcia, Rose and Stenson but they will also be missing a few of their past heroes such as Westwood, Donald & McDowell/Poulter(either or both may still get in on points) unless they get a captains pick.
I know it will be exciting to see so many new faces on both sides.
U-S-A…….U-S-A……U-S-A
Big Dick
Aug 15, 2014 at 1:41 pm
LOL I like this!!!!
Christosterone
Aug 14, 2014 at 2:23 pm
And since Im on the Lee Trevino subject, this is a must watch for anyone that loves golf history…
Maybe my favorite story of all time.
http://youtu.be/9sojAI7s160
Ballstriker
Aug 14, 2014 at 3:38 pm
Hey Christosterone!! What a great link to an awesome story. I had to play it back a couple of times to hear every word. Made me laugh, great stuff! Brotha’ Trevino is as tough as they come!
Christosterone
Aug 14, 2014 at 3:44 pm
I LOVE Trevino…we here in Texas worship him…
If you liked that story, check this out…
Jacklin said he had never played a match with anyone who was like this. Tony and Nicklaus said his iron play was matched only bynHogan and his toughness(re match play) was matched by nobody…
My favorite tourney:
http://youtu.be/urdUwammrEM
Ballstriker
Aug 14, 2014 at 9:01 pm
Wow, another gem of a story. To think of how Lee would have destroyed Agoosta, as Seve would say, if he had had the opportunity to complete his resume as a major championship winner. Would have been great to see a green jacket on the Merry Mex! Let’s just say Mr. Trevino was not made to feel welcome on the property. Nuff said.
MHendon
Aug 14, 2014 at 5:25 pm
Yeah not sure what this has to do with the Tiger article but you gotta love Lee.
Christosterone
Aug 14, 2014 at 6:14 pm
Nothing really. I was looking at Ryder cup records(see below link) and was surprised at how high lee was in so many of the categories.
Phil is way up there too in a bunch of stats as well…
RG
Aug 14, 2014 at 8:19 pm
It IS the best story of all time. Jack may be the best of all time, but if I had to pick a guy to go beat him, I’m taking Trevino.
Christosterone
Aug 14, 2014 at 2:16 pm
I wish at some point Lee Trevino would get a write up on this site.
He was a god in match play…
Bested just about everyone in totality of Ryder Cup records…Billy casper notwithstanding.
http://www.rydercup.com/usa/history/2014-ryder-cup-team-records
Jeff
Aug 14, 2014 at 1:33 pm
Anyone who laments Tiger’s poor Ryder cup record doesn’t actually watch the Ryder cup. Last Ryder cup he made six birdies on the back nine, almost halved his last match until Stricks missed an 8 footer. Watson would and should have had him on the team, the reason, just what he said, “He’s Tiger Woods.” The only American to have won 5 times since the last Ryder Cup.
Kevin Casey
Aug 14, 2014 at 1:52 pm
I think it would have been tough to justify putting Tiger on this team. Certainly 2013 Woods is a no brainer (and obviously would have qualified if the Cup were held that year), but he’s been brutal in 2014. Doesn’t matter that he’s Tiger Woods, if he’s unhealthy or playing poorly (or both, as he was recently) then the only way to justify picking him is if there’s a legitimate chance he turns it around between now and Ryder Cup time. With Tiger though, you didn’t see any sign that his game would improve rapidly between now and the Cup. His injuries were just hampering him too much. The U.S. is better off without this Tiger, but not without a healthy and on form one.
I am glad that you pointed out the myth of Tiger’s poor 2012 Ryder Cup. Yes, he was 0-3-1 and I know he apologized for his performance, but record in a small sample size can really be misleading. As you mentioned, he made six birdies on the back nine of his Saturday match, and he had an equally impressive back nine and round Friday against Colsaerts. Actually Tiger probably played the second best golf of the 16 out there Friday afternoon, he just happened to be against the guy who played the best. So I can’t really fault him for that loss, he and Stricker would have beaten every other European team that afternoon.
Honestly besides his opening match that week, he played well. He had more birdies (13) in his last three matches than Dustin Johnson had (11), and DJ went 3-0 while Tiger went 0-2-1. Sometimes you just get unlucky in who you play, and Tiger probably got a higher level of performance from his opponents than anyone else on the team. Doesn’t explain his career Ryder Cup record, but shows that Tiger’s 2012 appearance was a lot better than 0-3-1 indicates.
Christosterone
Aug 14, 2014 at 1:22 pm
Its a class move, plain and simple.
Im sure chamblee will find something wrong with it.
MHendon
Aug 14, 2014 at 5:19 pm
You took the words right out of my mouth.
Gautama
Aug 15, 2014 at 11:28 am
Will Brandel at least admit he’s not healthy now?
adhd
Aug 14, 2014 at 12:51 pm
It’s the only smart thing to do given his recent performance.
M-smizzle
Aug 14, 2014 at 12:26 pm
He can’t play that week
Big Vegas trip already scheduled