Tiger is still a weapon for U.S. squad
Tiger hunting: It’s an impossible task, but Tiger Woods, one week from returning to competitive golf after more than a year away, is trying to keep a low profile at the Ryder Cup.
He is one of Davis Love III’s vicecaptains on Team USA, but he isn’t doing interviews. If he even were to hit balls on the practice range, he might be a bigger story than any of the 24 players who are preparing to begin the matches on Friday.
But Love has called Woods and Phil Mickelson key members of the team — “They have a huge amount of success for a reason: because they know what they are doing,” he said — and 2010 European captain Colin Montgomerie thinks Woods will be a valuable psychological weapon for the U.S. without ever hitting a shot.
“It will be difficult for our rookies when he’s standing there. You know Tiger is there, you know he is well up for it, the crowd will be there chanting Tiger’s name,” said Montgomerie.
“If I had someone of that stature for my first game — if Jack Nicklaus had been standing there on the first tee, or Arnold Palmer — my God, you would feel it. And Tiger will be used as much as possible to be that way. It was a bit of a coup to get Tiger involved.” Not the full Monty: Montgomerie won the Champions Tour Pacific Links Championship at Bear Mountain on Vancouver Island on Sunday evening, but Golf Channel, which did not interrupt his playoff with Scott McCarron until well after many other outlets had already broken the news of Arnold Palmer’s death, eventually cut away to carry full-on coverage of the passing of its co-founder. So Monty’s victory was not televised live. Stand over there: Woods, meanwhile, was captured on video Tuesday lining up for the U.S. team picture, only to be told he wasn’t supposed to be in the photo and had to move off-camera. Picture this: Asked if he could paint a picture of what it’s like to stand on the first tee for the first time in a Ryder Cup match, Jordan Spieth laughed.
“Paint a picture? I actually asked for a picture painted of that, and I have it in my kitchen/living room. It’s the main piece of artwork in my house, and it’s right after I struck my first tee shot at Gleneagles (in 2014),” he said. “I remember walking from the range to the first tee, hearing the echoes of the chants through Scottish hill country, and trying to decide ... I mean, it’s a 3-wood all day, but you know, you put the tee in the ground, your hand is shaking ... maybe I should hit driver, because it’s a bigger head.
“But I hit a great shot, and that’s what makes me excited when I see the painting. I take confidence every time I see that.” Happy B-day: Rory McIlroy called fellow Irishman Paul McGinley (2014) the finest captain he has ever played under in his three Ryder Cups, but is looking forward to this one, captained by a childhood hero, Darren Clarke.
“I met Darren for the first time on my 10th birthday on the practice range at Royal Portrush Golf Club,” he said Tuesday.
Asked if he remembered what he got for his birthday, McIlroy said, “That was my birthday present, to play Royal Portrush, or actually the Valley Course next to it. My dad took me up there for my birthday. I remember I’d got a new wedge, the Cleveland Rusty Wedge.
“So I was chipping around the chipping green, and that’s where Darren was, and I mean, I was just in awe of him. My 10th birthday wasn’t getting any better anyway, and all of a sudden I meet Darren Clarke. He had just won the Match Play earlier that year against Tiger. He had been on a great run.
“That day has always stuck with me, and even this week, all those memories come sort of rushing back.”