2018 Ryder Cup: Tiger Woods, Steve Stricker named vice captains for U.S. team

The matches in Paris are starting to take shape, and the best ever is going to be involved

On Tuesday, United States Ryder Cup captain Jim Furyk named Steve Stricker and Tiger Woods as two of his vice captains for the upcoming 2018 matches in Paris, France. All three of them were vice captains for Davis Love III's winning Ryder Cup team in 2016 in Minnesota.

"The Ryder Cup is incredibly special to me," said Woods in a statement. "I am thrilled to once again serve as a Ryder Cup Vice Captain and I thank Jim for his confidence, friendship and support. My goal is to make the team, but whatever happens over the course of this season, I will continue to do what I can to help us keep the Cup. I'm excited about the challenge ahead."

"To win in Paris will be a great challenge, and to have Steve and Tiger share in the journey is important for me and for American golf, " added Furyk. "The deep appreciation they both have for competition, the concept of team, and the Ryder Cup is infectious. Their knowledge and experience will be an invaluable resource in our effort to retain the Ryder Cup."

Furyk highlighted “Xs and Os” as a strength of Tiger in the team room. Said he’s a guy they’ll be able to lean on when creating possible pairings.

— GC Tiger Tracker (@GCTigerTracker) February 20, 2018

Tiger was famously deep into the 2016 Ryder Cup at Hazeltine as a vice captain, planning strategies months in advance. He seemed to give a boost to younger players such as Patrick Reed, Jordan Spieth and Brooks Koepka. So it's easy to see why Furyk added him, but he also could still feasibly make the squad on points (although he's No. 104 on the points list right now) or as a captain's pick.

Last week Tiger said he’d like to do “both” by playing & serving as RC assistant. Furyk appears open to the idea: “If he can be valuable as a player, I’m sure we’d want him playing on this team.”

— GC Tiger Tracker (@GCTigerTracker) February 20, 2018

We're only two tournaments into his year, but it seems like it's going to take a minor miracle for him to make it on points with the way he's hitting it right now. Could he get into the top 25 and force the issue a little bit with Furyk? Absolutely, and he was asked about that very thing last week at the Genesis Open where he missed the cut. His answer was fitting.

Question: "Playing along with a hypothetical here, if you had a good year and not a great one and let's say we get to the end and let's say you're 20th as a Ryder Cup standing, do you think you're better off as a pick or as a captain? Which would you enjoy more?" 

Tiger: "Why can't I have both?"