Tiger Woods yesterday met senior PGA Tour officials - who decided last night to cancel this week's World Golf Championships event - to discuss the Ryder Cup. Leading players on Tuesday questioned whether the Ryder Cup could, or should, go ahead after the tragic events in Washington and New York on Monday.

US team member and former Open champion Mark Calcavecchia felt the contest should be postponed and said: "I think you can forget about the Ryder Cup for a few months at least. Meanwhile, world number two Phil Mickelson had already withdrawn from the $5 million tournament at Bellerive Country Club in St Louis while 21 players had yet to arrive after being caught up in the travel chaos in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks.

Woods said on Tuesday his participation in the Lancome Trophy next week was also in doubt. He is supposed to fly to Paris on Monday but said: "I wonder if I can even go." And the world number one yesterday revealed he was meeting PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem to discuss the different options open to the tour and players.

Asked whether this event or the Ryder Cup could go ahead Woods said: "I really don't know. I've got to talk to the commissioner this afternoon about all the different scenarios about playing in the next few weeks. It's very tough for everybody."

Woods' Ryder Cup team-mate Scott Hoch said the players would accept whatever decision was reached by the games' authorities with the European Tour and PGA Tour in close contact.

"My view is that it's not up to me," said Hoch, whose plane was diverted to Nashville on Tuesday as the tragic events unfolded. "Whatever is decided I will go with. The players are not the ones to decide. I'm torn either way. There are two ways to look at it. If you live your lives scared the terrorists can consider it a victory. Do you want to let the terrorists influence your life in more ways than they already have? Or do you cancel it out of respect for what has happened.

"In the whole scheme of things it (Ryder Cup) is not very important. It does not make that much difference to me."

US Ryder Cup captain Curtis Strange was supposed to be having dinner with team members yesterday evening but Hoch was uncertain whether he would be able to get to St Louis from Denver. Today's play in St Louis had already been cancelled with 36 holes scheduled for tomorrow and 18 each on Saturday and Sunday before tournament officials decided to cancel the tournament completely.

Tournament officials announced the $5 million prize money would be donated to a relief fund set up as a result of Tuesday's atrocities.

Mike Bodney, PGA Tour Senior vice president of international affairs, had said earlier in the day: "We are trying to, and will, make decisions that we believe are in the best interests of everyone that would be involved with the competition here this week.

American Express obviously are in chaos (the tournament sponsors have their headquarters near the World Trade Centre in New York) and Tim Finchem is going to speak to them again after some of this settles down a little bit.

"This is going to be an ongoing situation. The President of the United States has a lot to say about what we are doing here as well. He is obviously going to direct us as a people and a nation to understand how best to react to all of this. All of those things are part of what we will be taking into consideration."