Tiger Woods presence could harm USA in Ryder Cup, says Lee Westwood
Thursday 22 September 2016 10:39, UK
Lee Westwood has questioned whether Tiger Woods will have a positive impact in his role as a Ryder Cup vice-captain.
Woods has not played competitively since August last year following a third back operation in the space of 19 months, but will be at Hazeltine next week as part of American captain Davis Love's backroom staff.
Despite winning 14 majors and spending a record 683 weeks as world No 1, Woods lost 17 of his 33 Ryder Cup matches and Westwood is not convinced the 40-year-old will be a huge asset off the course.
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"I don't know what impact there will be from having Tiger around," Westwood told ESPN. "They [the US team] have always struggled to find a partner for Tiger that's been successful.
"He could have an adverse effect in the team room. People have always seemed to try to do too much when they have partnered him. It might be different if he's one of the vice-captains - you don't know."
Europe are seeking an unprecedented fourth straight victory in the biennial contest and Westwood, who will make a 10th consecutive appearance after being given a wild card by captain Darren Clarke, believes the pressure is firmly on the home team.
"They have got a strong side and probably are favourites, but they haven't won it for a while and they are playing in front of a home crowd," the 43-year-old added. "There is a lot of pressure on them.
"That is going to keep building in the next week or so and by the time the Ryder Cup comes around it is going to be pretty intense for them, the week in Minnesota."
