Woods a vice-captain for Ryder Cup, but will he play?
Tiger Woods will be in France this year for the Ryder Cup as a vice-captain.
Still to be determined is whether he gets to play.
U.S. captain Jim Furyk appointed Woods and Steve Stricker as two of his vice-captains for the Sept. 28-30 matches at Le Golf National. Furyk previously selected two-time Ryder Cup captain Davis Love III to assist him.
Woods has said he’d like to play and be a vice-captain. Furyk hasn’t ruled that out.
“It’s possible,” Furyk said Tuesday. “Whether that’s the best thing for the team, we’ll see.”
Woods is returning from a fourth back surgery that has limited his golf to just 19 tournaments since the first of those surgeries a week before the 2014 Masters. He last played in the Ryder Cup in 2012 at Medinah, where he went 0-3-1.
Woods was a vice-captain at Hazeltine for the 2016 Ryder Cup, when the Americans beat Europe for the first time in eight years. He also was an assistant at the Presidents Cup last fall. Players and other assistants have described him as being heavily involved.
Stricker, the Presidents Cup captain last year, will be a vice-captain in the third straight Ryder Cup.
Woods has a 13-17-3 record in his seven appearances as a player in the Ryder Cup. He has played on only one winning team, in 1999 at The Country Club in Brookline, Mass. He was a captain’s pick only in Wales in 2010.
Woods tied for 23rd last month at Torrey Pines, then missed the cut last week at Riviera. He is playing the Honda Classic this week, and likely has one more start at Bay Hill ahead of the Masters. He is No. 544 in the world ranking and not eligible for World Golf Championships, which offer higher Ryder Cup points.
“I think the good news-bad news for someone like Tiger Woods is:
I think the good news-bad news for someone like Tiger Woods is: He’s played what? Three or four events? And we’re already talking Ryder Cup.
He’s played what? Three or four events? And we’re already talking Ryder Cup,” Furyk said. “That’s the nature of being Tiger Woods and obviously being one of the greatest players or the greatest player of all time. I’m anxious to see how he plays, so see how things go and we’ll do what’s best for him and the team.”