Everything is “on hold” for PGA Tour player Tiger Woods after his car accident and arrest for a suspected DUI on Friday, as he was “days away from a decision on whether to be the next U.S. Ryder Cup captain for the 2027 matches in Ireland.” He also is a central figure in the Tour as chair of the Future Competition Committee that is reshaping its model of tournaments. A source said that that PGA of America “has a backup plan of four potential candidates for the Ryder Cup committee to review if Woods declines -- or if the PGA of America moves on” (AP, 3/28).
THE ATHLETIC’s Brody Miller wrote under the header, “We don’t need to quit Tiger Woods. But we must ask less of him.” Woods “is a 50-year-old man who clearly continues to struggle.” Each “act of careless behavior no longer exists just as a poetic chapter in his hero’s arc.” It is “reality,” which “means it might be fair to ask if he remains the correct face for a new-look PGA Tour being built from the beginning.” If any other high-ranking PGA Tour exec were charged with multiple DUIs, “questions would be asked about whether they remained the right person to lead the project” (THE ATHLETIC, 3/28).
GOLFWEEK’s Eamon Lynch wrote the Tour “can do something to help,” like “allowing Woods to step aside” from his Future Competition Committee role. He has “more important matters to address than how the Tour’s business might be improved,” as PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp is “hoping for action sooner rather than later.” The Tour “ought to give Woods space to deal with the current situation” (GOLFWEEK, 3/27). USA TODAY’s Nancy Armour wrote Woods “needs to go straight to rehab and stay there for as long as it takes for him to overcome his addiction” (USA TODAY, 3/27).
In London, Rick Broadbent wrote Woods has “been in this glare of an unwelcome spotlight too many times for fans to trivialise the offences simply because he was fortunate enough not to hurt someone.” Journalists should “not fawn over his next return to golf until he accepts there has been a pattern of worrying behaviour” (London TIMES, 3/28). In London, Daivd Walsh wrote under the header, “Golf fans always forgive Tiger Woods, but his fall is both sad and bad” (London TIMES, 3/28).
In N.Y., Mike Lupica wrote under the header, “Once the biggest winner in sports, Tiger Woods is now just a wreck” (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 3/28). GOLF DIGEST’s Joel Beall wrote something is “wrong with Tiger Woods.” Privacy is a “harder argument to make when the struggle keeps arriving in public.” Beall: “On roadsides, in mugshots, in sheriff’s press conferences. At some point, looking away is not discretion. It’s something closer to abandonment” (GOLF DIGEST, 3/28).
GOLF’s Michael Bamberger wrote it “wouldn’t be surprising to see Woods still show up at the Champions Dinner” for the Masters at Augusta National in less than two weeks. Woods’ “m.o. has always been move on, move on, move on.” Bamberger: “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” (GOLF, 3/28).
President Trump said Friday, “I feel so badly. He’s got some difficulty. Very close friend of mine. He’s an amazing person. Amazing man. But, some difficulty” (AP, 3/27).
