SHEBOYGAN, Wis. – Tiger Woods’ status as a staple in the U.S. team room will likely end this week.
On Monday, captain Steve Stricker was asked if he expected Woods, who continues to recover from multiple injuries sustained in a single-vehicle accident in February, to make a cameo this week at Whistling Straits.
“Probably not going to happen,” Stricker said. “He's been obviously in my ear a lot, and I call him pretty regularly. He's part of our Ryder Cup team. He's part of what we do. He's been part of so many of these teams.”
Woods was a vice captain, and a player, at the 2018 matches in Paris and was a playing captain at the 2019 Presidents Cup in Australia. He was likely in line for another vice captain’s job at Whistling Straits, but Stricker said the physical demands wouldn’t allow him to travel.
“I think it's just not a good time for him to be here physically because of where he's at in his rehabilitation and tough course to walk,” Stricker said. “But he's getting better and his focus and mine is on making a comeback to play again.”
Stricker said he will continue to communicate with Woods throughout the matches and added that some of his team members visited with Woods before leaving for the Ryder Cup.