Despite winning 21 golf majors between them, Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson have never had a chance to win an Olympic gold medal, so why does the most famous sports event in the world continue to evade them?

READ MORE:Tiger Woods’s niece Cheyenne Woods opens up about daughter’s health battle and recovery

The pair became synonymous with golf and Woods arguably transcended it as they forged an exceptional rivalry in the 2000s but with the sport only being an Olympic event once in the last century, they’ve never had a true shot.

Steve Williams caddied for Tiger Woods during the height of the superstar’s success but was sacked for temporarily jumping ship to another player.

The New Zealand native accompanied Woods on some of the world’s most challenging courses between 1999 and 2011, undoubtedly an asset to Wood’s 15 major career wins and record 82 PGA Tour titles – nine ahead of legend Jack Nicklaus. For his efforts, Williams became one of the world’s most notable caddies in golfing history, racking up a reported net worth of £15.7million ($20m) following the unprecedented string of success – largely part to his salary and percentage of Woods’ winnings.

READ MORE:Keegan Bradley makes Tiger Woods claim after shock Ryder Cup decision

With Williams at his side, Woods would win 64 of his tour victories, 13 of his 15 majors, nine Tour Player of the Year awards, and spend 281 weeks at World No. 1 between June 2005 and October 2010. But the good times would soon come to an end for Williams, who has previously opened up about the reason that he was sacked by Woods.

Speaking in the Woods documentary of 2021, Williams said: “After the Masters, Tiger took a little bit of a break away from the game just to get his mind fresh as well as to deal with some niggling injuries. As a caddie of Tiger Woods and a great friend of his I wanted to deeply respect what he was going through but I still didn’t know when he would be playing again.”

He added: “I was just expecting a phone call at any moment to say ‘I’m playing again next week, get your s*** together and get over here’. There was a lot of uncertainty. So when a friend I had caddied for before called me and asked me if I could caddie for him, I ran that by Tiger and he said absolutely no problem.”

However, Woods is said to have changed his mind on the situation soon after, calling Williams to say that if he caddied for someone else then it would be the end of their professional relationship. Williams explained: “But a couple of days before the tournament, Tiger changed his mind.

UPDATE:Keegan Bradley makes Tiger Woods claim after shock Ryder Cup decision

“He had his agent call and he said ‘If you go and caddie for your friend, that will be the end of your time caddying for Tiger’. I thought there was no way the guy is going to fire me. But a couple of days after the tournament I got the phone call to say our time had ended.

Cheyenne Woods, professional golfer and niece of Tiger Woods, recently provided an update on her daughter Maya’s health.

Woods family celebrating baby Maya’s improved health

In an Instagram story, Woods shared a heartwarming video of Maya smiling and giggling, with the caption, “Our baby has been THRIVING on vacation. Love that for her, she deserves it .”

This glimpse into their family life highlights a positive turn in Maya’s health journey.

Maya, Woods’ second child, faced significant health challenges from birth, including severe reflux and laryngomalacia.

These conditions made feeding and gaining weight difficult, necessitating surgery and the use of a feeding tube.

Woods described feeling “scared and helpless” during this period, to the extent that she feared leaving the house.

READ MORE:

Despite these challenges, Maya’s recent progress has brought joy and relief to her family.

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New United States Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley has revealed he wants Tiger Woods ‘to be involved as he wants to be’ when the biennial contest swings around at Bethpage Black in September 2025.

Bradley, 38, was named earlier this month by the PGA of America as the 2025 US Ryder Cup captain, much to the shock of the golf world.

That was because Woods, 48, was believed to have been the frontrunner for the hotseat ever since Zach Johnson led the US side to a five-point loss in Rome last September.

Revealed: Why Tiger Woods turned down the 2025 US Ryder Cup captaincy

The likes of Fred Couples, Davis Love III and Stewart Cink were also considered to have been in with a good chance should Woods not have fancied it.

But when Woods did ultimately turn the captaincy down, the PGA of America decided to go down a different route and select current World No.21 Bradley.

Bradley has represented the US Ryder Cup twice as a player (2012, 2014) and he won his lone major to date at the 2011 US PGA at Atlanta Athletic Club.

Many consider Bradley was a tad unfortunate to miss out on one of Johnson’s captain picks in the 2023 US Ryder Cup team.

The American has made it clear he intends to fight hard to still make the team as a player.

If he doesn’t make the team as an automatic though, he will not be handing himself a pick.

Bradley said earlier this month:“I want to play on the team. I feel like I’m still in the prime of my career and can make this team. I will either make the team on points or not pick myself.” 

There are fears by many that Bradley will have to step down as a captain should he make it in to the team on merit.

Rory McIlroy fired a shot in the direction of Bradley once hearing about the PGA’s decision to elect him.

Woods last week told the media at The Open that he turned down a first-ever captaincy of the US Ryder Cup team because he has too much going on at the moment with which to give the position his full commitment.

The 15-time major champion is playing a lead role in ongoing PGA Tour-PIF talks, and his new TGL with McIlroy also starts up in January.

European Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald has admitted he agreed with Woods’ decision to bypass the captaincy.

There is a belief in the industry right now that Woods may accept the position of US Ryder Cup captain when the following Ryder Cup takes place at Adare Manor, Ireland, in 2027.

Woods will be 51 then

Bradley told the media ahead of this week’s 3M Open that he didn’t specifically speak to Woods about the Ryder Cup during last week’s Open Championship at Royal Troon, but that he would be welcome to play a role on the team or as a vice-captain should he so wish.

“Yeah, I’ve told Tiger that I want him to be as involved as he wants to be,” Bradley said of Woods’ potential involvement at the 2025 Ryder Cup.

“We didn’t — with the British Open going on, we’re not really chatting too much about that.

“We both have a job to do and I don’t want to bother Tiger with that.

“I think in the coming months — we’re still 14 months out here, so we’ve got a long time.”

Both Woods and Bradley went on to miss the cut at The Open last week.

It marked a third straight MC in the majors for Woods, who admitted he will unlikely be playing competitively again this season until the PNC Championship with his son Charlie.

Woods has been watching Charlie in action at the US Junior Amateur this week.

Unfortunately Charlie has endured a tough couple of days.

An image of Woods’ leg went viral on Tuesday.

Woods’ leg was papped without its usual sleeve on for the first time since his horror car crash in Los Angeles back in 2021.

Both Woods and Bradley went on to miss the cut at The Open last week.

It marked a third straight MC in the majors for Woods, who admitted he will unlikely be playing competitively again this season until the PNC Championship with his son Charlie.

Woods has been watching Charlie in action at the US Junior Amateur this week.

Unfortunately Charlie has endured a tough couple of days.

An image of Woods’ leg went viral on Tuesday.

Woods’ leg was papped without its usual sleeve on for the first time since his horror car crash in Los Angeles back in 2021.