Time for Tiger to accept fact he is mortal

OPINION: No doubt an overload of arrogance is a prerequisite in becoming an all-time great such as Tiger Woods.

Yet, in the mission merely to become ‘‘quite good’’ again, perhaps Woods could drop the final remnants of the ‘‘big I am’’, which are bizarrely manifesting themselves in his ludicrous Ryder Cup aim.

It would be tempting to argue Woods did Jim Furyk, the United States captain, no favours by declaring his wish to make history by becoming the first person to play and act as a vice-captain in the same Ryder Cup. But, actually, Woods probably did help out his old hombre.

Ryder Cup press conferences staged in February, more than seven months before the three-day match, are wretched affairs, packed with waffle and invariably staged, with transparent shamelessness, to announce a commercial tie-in.

This week it was the turn of a statistics firm, and amid all this corporate claptrap, Furyk must have been relieved to have Woods to discuss, after unveiling the

14-time major winner as a vicecaptain.

Yet Furyk’s comments on a Woods dual role told their own story. ‘‘We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it and see what is best for the team,’’ Furyk said.

In other words, let us wait until Woods is even on the very outskirts of Ryder Cup qualification and then we can make it about Team USA, rather than about Tiger Woods.

Of course, it would not be in Furyk’s interests for Woods to do double duty and that is simply because of the way the US team are now run.

In homage to the 2008 system employed by Paul Azinger, for the

2016 Ryder Cup and the 2017 Presidents Cup the 12 US players have been divided into a trio of four-man pods who have practised together under the supervision of a vice-captain. Information regarding form and pairings is then relayed to the captain.

Once the matches begin, the vice-captain becomes yet more valuable. Furyk will be required to be on the first tee for at least the first hour, greeting all the pros and fulfilling yet another corporate responsibility in giving interviews to one of the multitude of TV ‘‘partners’’.

So, he will need the likes of Woods to tell him who is playing well, etc.

Woods is apparently very good at this. Two years ago at Hazeltine, Davis Love, the captain, was ready to rest Jordan Spieth and Patrick Reed for the Saturday afternoon fourballs. Woods insisted Love should send them back out and they duly prevailed to help give US a 91⁄2-61⁄2 lead, which was to prove unassailable.

‘‘Tiger’s contribution was priceless,’’ Love reported. How could Woods provide such insight if he happened to be playing as well?

He could not and, what is more, the team’s unity might be jeopardised if one of their number has more responsibility than the rest. It would threaten the camaraderie the Americans have worked so hard to foster. And all because of one man’s desire and – dare we say – his ego.

The truth is, Woods never was much cop as a Ryder Cup player and the realisation that he is more useful in a buggy wearing an earpiece than he is with a club in his hand must be galling.

The old Tiger would surely have balked at that notion, but the new, caring Tiger clearly appreciates the love he receives in the team room.

He is plainly caught between two eras, but he cannot do both and in terms of playing, it is still highly doubtful he can even do one. It is time for Tiger to lower his sights and to integrate himself fully into the real world.