Tiger Woods’ Ryder Cup record remains an exceptional event in his career but not in a way a great player would want. Despite being hailed as one of the greatest golfers ever, his performance in this Cup has been disappointing.
Over eight Ryder Cup appearances, Woods played 37 matches. He won only 13 of them. 21 matches were lost, and three matches ended up as ties. His teams managed a meager 1–7 record during these appearances.
Such a disastrous result led to Woods earning just over 39% of potential points. Woods’ struggles at the Ryder Cup are particularly notable given how great he has performed throughout his career and during other tournaments and events.
Moreover, a shadow over Woods’ Ryder Cup legacy is a controversial remark he made in 1999 about the event being “an exhibition.” At the PGA Championship at Medinah that summer, when asked about the intensity of the Ryder Cup, Woods said, “I remember players in the past skipping the Ryder Cup because it was an exhibition . . . That’s exactly what it is.”
When pressed if he understood why his words might cause controversy, Woods stood firm, saying, “It is an exhibition. Any event where professionals aren’t paid constitutes an exhibition. That’s how it started”.
These comments led to a huge backlash. Then-U.S. captain Ben Crenshaw reacted strongly, saying, “It’s not an exhibition. How can they say that?” Though Crenshaw later apologized for his emotional response, he underlined the traditional belief that representing one’s country should be motivation enough.
Crenshaw mentioned, “All I can tell you is that I come from a different generation. Ryder Cup means quite a lot to a lot of us. We want to continue to see that from both sides of the Atlantic”.
David Duval, who had made related remarks, called his words a “poor choice,” but Woods maintained his stance, clarifying the issue was not about players getting paid for personal gain. Instead, Woods focused on revenue control and charitable allocations, stating in 1999, “The Ryder Cup is a big money maker. There’s so much money being made, why can’t we allocate funds to our communities?”
Wood’s opinions about players getting paid for the Cup eventually led to a historic change in 2025, first-time payments to the U.S. team, granting each player $200,000 and an additional $300,000 for charities, making a total $500,000 package, according to the Irish Star.
Woods’ Ryder Cup history also coincides with an interesting note for the 2025 event: his appearance will be alongside President Donald Trump’s expected attendance, marking Trump’s ongoing presence in major sporting events.
While Wood’s remark branding the event as “an exhibition” still stirs debate more than two decades later, given how the no payment rule has finally been changed, his words carry more significance now instead of just being a point of controversy.
