Tiger Woods, Jim Furyk, Steve Stricker will be Ryder Cup vice captains

Tiger Woods will be at the Ryder Cup next year at Hazeltine. It is not the bright lights and glamour associated with Woods, a 14-time major champion whose ability to compete at a high level anytime soon or in the future remains very much in doubt.

So Tiger still wants to play, but even if he makes the team, he still wants to serve as a playing captain of sorts.

Don’t, however, take this as the first step toward retirement for Woods, who had back surgery for the first time in March 2014, for the second time in September and for a third time in October.

Furyk, on the other hand, has been one of the five to 10 best American golfers in recent years and a mainstay on these Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup teams. They want to show the younger players that this group of guys is committed to doing whatever we can to win. Love approached Woods, Furyk, Stricker and Phil Mickelson about being vice captains.

Tom Lehman, the 2006 captain for the K Club, was appointed vice-captain previous year. I’ve talked to him several times over the last few weeks, about his back, about how he’s feeling, how he’s practicing. “He wants to make the team, but he wants to be involved in any way”.

Love left open the possibility that any or all of the three players could make the team on points or as captain’s picks but only Woods has told Love he wants to remain a vice-captain if he plays.

Woods would love nothing more than to play in the Ryder Cup, and said as much in a statement released Wednesday at the RSM Classic, where Love is the tournament host and made the announcement. If either were to make the team, Love can name a replacement. There is nothing that says Woods need be a vice captain, ever. Lehman was the 2006 USA captain.

“We’ve got to get to work”, Love said. “I will continue to do whatever I can to help win the Cup back”.

Stricker tweeted “I’m so excited to be a part of this team”.

This is the earliest a United States captain has announced his assistants, and there was a reason for that.