Woods Critical of PGA for Ryder Captain

MIYAZAKI, Japan - Tiger Woods disagrees with the PGA of America for selecting Tom Lehman as captain of the 2006 Ryder Cup team, saying it should have been close friend Mark O’Meara.

‘I thought he should have been captain because of the heritage of where he’s from,’ Woods said Wednesday, the day before the start of the Dunlop Phoenix tournament. ‘He’s Irish so it would have been a perfect fit for him to be Ryder Cup captain.’

The next Ryder Cup matches will be played in Ireland.

‘He’s obviously very disappointed he didn’t get it,’ Woods said of O’Meara. ‘He feels this was probably his last chance because of his age. He’ll be 51 by the time the next one comes around.’

Lehman was chosen U.S. captain a few weeks ago, given the task of trying to regain the Ryder Cup.

Two weeks ago, Woods called the appointment a ‘good choice.’

Some have thought O’Meara’s chances were hurt because he was among those who felt players should have a say in the $23 million the PGA made off the Ryder Cup in 1999. The PGA eventually decided to allot $200,000 per player to give to the charity of their choice.

‘If that’s the case, I won’t be captain either, Woods said at the time. ‘Or David (Duval). Or Phil (Mickelson). We were all saying that.’

Copyright 2004 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.