TIGER WILL INTIMIDATE ROOKIES, SAYS MONTY

COLIN MONTGOMERIE thinks Tiger Woods will be used by the Americans as a powerful psychological weapon at the Ryder Cup next week in a bid to intimidate Europe’s six rookies. What role Woods will play has become a running theme, with Lee Westwood wondering whether his commanding presence will have an adverse effect on the American team, and former US captain Paul Azinger dismissing the Englishman’s opinion as mind games. Now Montgomerie has weighed in and said he expects the most decorated vice-captain in Ryder Cup history to be stationed prominently on the first tee before every match. ‘Tiger will be there to put the pressure on,’ said the Scot, a veteran of eight Ryder Cups as a player and one as a skipper. ‘I think it is one up to the Americans to have him on those tees. I think back to my first time as a player and what it would have been like if Arnold Palmer or Jack Nicklaus had been standing there while I tried to hit my opening shot. ‘It is going to make life very difficult for Europe’s rookies because with Tiger present it is going to make it so loud and aggressive at times.’ Montgomerie, who will be at Hazeltine as a commentator for Sky Sports, believes American skipper Davis Love has pulled off a masterstroke in getting Woods on board. ‘It was a coup for Davis and all credit to Tiger for putting on his patriotic hat,’ he said. ‘You can see Tiger is well up for it. ‘It’s probably fair to say the Ryder Cup is more important to him now than it was before his injuries. I hope the experience gives him the incentive to make it back as a player for France in 2018.’