Tiger Woods: Europe have one of their best ever Ryder Cup teams

2018 Ryder Cup

• What: Team Europe vs. Team USA
• When: 28-30 September
• Where: Le Golf National, Guyancourt, France
• Website: rydercup.com

The eyes of the golfing world will be on Tiger Woods next week when he makes his first Ryder Cup appearance for Team USA since 2012.

The 14-time major champion, and former world No.1, was one of US captain Jim Furyk’s wildcard picks for the 2018 edition, starting on Friday 28 September at Le Golf National near Paris.

Team USA are strong favourites to defend the Ryder Cup but Woods dismissed that notion, The Guardian reports. Speaking at the PGA’s season-ending Tour Championship, where he’s tied for the lead after the first round, the 42-year-old praised Team Europe’s strength.

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“I think the European side is one of the best they’ve ever had,” said Woods. “We have a solid team, but so do the Europeans.

“It plays out over three days. It’s about playing well at the right time and partnering up well at the right time and making putts.

“I think both teams are very deep this year going into the event, so it’s going to be a lot of fun for both sides.”

Woods was named as a Team USA wildcard alongside Phil Mickelson, Bryson DeChambeau and Tony Finau. After a number of years disrupted by injuries, he is excited to return to Ryder Cup action and hopes he can head to France with a win at the Tour Championship under his belt.

“When I was laying on the ground and couldn’t move for a number of months, golf was the furthest thing from my mind,” Woods admitted.

“It’s great to have accomplished one of the goals I set out at the beginning of the year, to make it back to East Lake to be part of the Tour Championship. I’ve accomplished that. Now I want to get the win and then head into next week at the Ryder Cup.

“It’s not going to rank up there as one of my top seasons because I didn’t win eight or nine times in a season; I didn’t win two to three majors in a year. But to have accomplished what I’ve accomplished and to have gotten through what I’ve gotten through to get back to this point is something I’m very proud of.”

2018 Ryder Cup teams

Team USA

• Captain: Jim Furyk
• Vice-captains: David Duval, Zach Johnson, Matt Kuchar, Davis Love III, Steve Stricker
• USA’s 12-player squad: Brooks Koepka, Dustin Johnson, Justin Thomas, Patrick Reed, Bubba Watson, Jordan Spieth, Rickie Fowler, Webb Simpson, Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Bryson DeChambeau, Tony Finau

Team Europe

• Captain: Thomas Bjorn
• Vice-captains: Luke Donald, Padraig Harrington, Robert Karlsson, Graeme McDowell, Lee Westwood
• Europe’s 12-player squad: Francesco Molinari, Justin Rose, Tyrrell Hatton, Tommy Fleetwood, Thorbjørn Olesen, Jon Rahm, Rory McIlroy, Alex Noren, Paul Casey, Sergio Garcia, Ian Poulter, Henrik Stenson