Tiger Woods named vice captain of Ryder Cup team

It is almost a year until the 2016 Ryder Cup competition, but Tiger Woods doesn’t have to wait around to see if he will be healthy enough to participate.

The prolific PGA player was named a vice captain to Team USA on Wednesday by Davis Love III, the PGA Tour’s website reported. Jim Furyk and Steve Stricker were also added to the captain’s docket, along with already appointed Tom Lehman. Love is expected to name a fifth vice captain at a later date, the report said.

The addition of Woods is an intriguing one, especially since Woods reportedly contacted Love himself about serving as vice captain should he not make the Ryder Cup team. However, the move isn’t totally out of left field — or more appropriately, a fairway bunker. Vice captain Furyk, who has played in the last nine Ryders, moved to an “assistant role” during the 2015 President’s Cup after a wrist injury prevented him from competing.

Should he be eligible to play for Team USA, Woods would in fact be replaced with someone else as vice captain. While it’s only speculation at this point, it appears that Woods, who turns 40 in December, is aiming not to let a worst-case scenario with his health keep him from participating at Hazeltine National Golf Club next fall.

"Once I’m fully healthy, I’d like to try to make the team," Woods said. "But either way, I’m very excited."

The Ryder Cup team will comprise the top eight players in points after the 2016 Barclays and  four “captain’s picks,” which Love will make at a much later date. Woods is currently ranked 36th in points.