TIGER’S ‘FUN WORK WEEK’

Woods excited for Ryder Cup return in France

Sports Illustrated in 1994 that he skipped a sightseeing tour for more practice-range time and ate at McDonald’s near the team hotel instead of sampling French cuisine because “I can’t handle all these sauces.”

After missing the 2014 Ryder Cup with nagging back pain, Woods served as an assistant captain for the triumphant 2016 US squad, which had lost eight of 10 prior meetings to Europe.

Questioning if he would ever play again, Woods underwent spinal fusion surgery last year in a final bid to resume his career.

This year has seen a return to form, including a runner-up showing in August’s PGA Championship and five other top-six finishes, including at the British Open in July.

But Woods still has not won a title in over five years and hasn’t claimed a major since 2008. Helping the Americans end a quarter-century drought on European soil might be the taste of victory Woods needs to snap his own wait for a trophy.

“To have an opportunity to go to Europe and win a Ryder Cup, and we haven’t done it in 25 years over there, and to be part of this group of guys to have that opportunity to go there, it’s exciting,” Woods said. “We’re going to go over there and give it our best and try and keep this Cup.”

Woods admitted the thing that took him the longest to rebuild was confidence to make full-power swings because he feared the return of back pain.

“I was just so apprehensive to start letting it go,” Woods recalled. “The doc said you’re good to go, now you’ve got to build in the confidence to let it go. And that’s probably what took the longest. I just didn’t want to hurt again. I didn’t want to feel that pain again.

To that end, Woods says he will work to build his strength in the upcoming offseason, having not announced plans to play again until the Hero World Challenge invitational he hosts in the Bahamas two months after the Ryder Cup.

“I’m going to take a long break after the Ryder Cup and we’re going to evaluate things,” Woods said.

“What you do in the off-season is what allows you to maintain it through the year, especially on the backside of the year. playing – I was just trying to play.

“I have a better understanding of what I need to do and this off-season will be very different than it was last year.”