Tiger Woods backed to be 'terrific' vice-captain for US team at Ryder Cup

24 September 2016 01:38

Former Ryder Cup vice-captain Andy North believes Tiger Woods will be "terrific" in the same role at Hazeltine next week as the United States look to avoid an unprecedented fourth straight defeat.

Woods has not played competitively since August last year following a third back operation in the space of 19 months, but will be part of American captain Davis Love's backroom staff alongside Steve Stricker, Jim Furyk and Tom Lehman.

Despite winning 14 majors and spending a record 683 weeks as world number one, Woods lost 17 of his 33 Ryder Cup matches and European stalwart Lee Westwood suggested this week that his presence could have an "adverse effect" in the team room.

However, North - who was an assistant to Tom Watson at Gleneagles in 2014 and played at The Belfry in 1985 after winning his second US Open title earlier that year - has backed the 40-year-old to make a positive impact.

"I think he will be terrific," North, speaking on behalf of espn.co.uk, told Press Association Sport. "His competitiveness, his swagger, will be a big deal. You have to remember that some of those young guys on the team grew up looking up to him and having him there will be great for them."

North agreed with Westwood's belief that the United States have previously struggled to find a successful partner for Woods, admitting he could "intimidate" his team-mates, which included the likes of Justin Leonard, Steve Pate, Chris Riley and current captain Love.

But the 66-year-old added: "Tiger is a huge plus to have in that team room. Tiger has been there so many times and Davis also has a lot of experience in Furyk, Stricker and Lehman."

Stricker was a vice-captain alongside North and Ray Floyd at Gleneagles, where Europe won by five points for an eighth victory in the last 10 biennial contests.

And North was present at the post-event press conference when Phil Mickelson openly criticised the approach of captain Watson, who was sitting just a few feet away.

Mickelson - who had been left out of a full day's play on Saturday for the first time in 10 Ryder Cup appearances - stated his support for the methods of Paul Azinger, who captained the side to their last win at Valhalla in 2008.

North is reluctant to comment on the subject, but admitted: "I did not think it needed to be said or that it was the right time and place to say it. I was not happy about that at all."

Mickelson's comments contributed to the formation of an 11-man "task force" to examine all aspects of the US Ryder Cup process, with the biggest change seeing the final wild card not selected until five days before the contest starts.

"I think some good things came out of the task force, but ultimately all that matters is the result," North added. "I think in the Ryder Cup there are usually 10 key holes which decide the result.

"People forget if one team is one down with three holes to play but end up flipping the result, that's effectively a two-point swing. Our guys did not play as well as theirs at Gleneagles and we got beat. Welcome to professional sport."

Source: PA