Tiger Finally Answers Ryder Cup Questions

Yesterday I wrote a piece for a partner website (You can read the article here) on whether Tiger Woods would compete in the Ryder Cup and whether, if healthy, American captain Tom Watson would select him with one of his three captains picks.

Well, it didn’t take long to finally get an answer and put all the speculation to rest. Late in the afternoon yesterday, Woods announced on his website that he would be removing his name from consideration for a Ryder Cup pick citing the need to rest and continue to rehab from his back surgery in March.

Here is the full statement from his website:

 I’ve been told by my doctors and trainer that my back muscles need to be rehabilitated and healed. They’ve advised me not to play or practice now. I was fortunate that my recent back injury was not related to my surgery and was muscular only.

I have already spoken to Tom [Watson] about the Ryder Cup, and while I greatly appreciate his thinking about me for a possible captain’s pick, I took myself out of consideration. The U.S. team and the Ryder Cup mean too much to me not to be able to give it my best. I’ll be cheering for the U.S. team. I think we have an outstanding squad going into the matches.

I plan to return to competition at my World Challenge tournament at Isleworth in Orlando, Florida, Dec. 1-7. It’s an event that’s important to me and my foundation, and it will be exciting to be playing again.

Watson, who had always said that he would pick Woods if he were playing well and healthy, stated that while he was disappointed not to have Tiger as a possible selection, he hopes that Woods can take this time to get healthy and return to top form soon.

Tiger removing himself from consideration might have been a great help to Watson. As I wrote yesterday, there are several American golfers that you could argue were more deserving than Woods based off of their play in 2014.

Currently on the outside looking in and hoping to be picked are Jason Dufner, Brendon Todd, Keegan Bradley, Webb Simpson, Brandt Snedeker, and even assistant captain Steve Stricker who had an impressive showing at the PGA Championship just to name a few. That’s six golfers I just mentioned with only three spots available.

While Watson does not have an easy job by any means trying to select his final three golfers for the Ryder Cup, his job just became a little easier with Tiger Woods no longer in the mix.

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About Dan Hauser

As an avid golfer and sports enthusiast, Dan has had a passion for sports starting at a very young age. Dan’s other passion has always been writing. Since the time he could write, he has always enjoyed sharing information with people and telling stories through writing. In middle school he combined his two loves by joining the school newspaper in the sports department.

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