“He’ll be in communication” – Ryder Cup skipper Zach Johnson says he’ll ‘FaceTime or text’ Tiger Woods at competition if needed
Tiger Woods is away from the golf course due to his injury and will miss the 2023 Ryder Cup. The golfer will be present, though, to support his countrymen in winning the competition.
In a recent interview with Golf Week, US Ryder Cup captain Zach Johnson spoke candidly about the biennial competition. He was questioned regarding Tiger Woods' participation in the tournament.
In response to the query, Johnson stated that the 15-time major champion will help the team from outside. Whenever the team need him, Johnson will text or FaceTime him.
Speaking about Tiger Woods, Johnson said:
"Well, he’s been involved throughout. Just communication, whether it’s a text here or text there. We can bounce things off him if we desire. At the same time, what’s happened as of late, he’s even voiced it: he’s like, 'hey, once tournament week comes, I don’t need much.'"
"He’s like ‘if you need me to look at something, so be it.’ But at the same time, we really haven’t done that, because there’s so much of our work we get done before the week. But he’ll be in communication, whether it’s FaceTime or text," he added.
Scottie Scheffler, Max Homa, Patrick Cantlay, Xander Schuaffele, Brian Harman, and Wyndham Clark auto-qualified to represent the American team at the 2023 Ryder Cup. On the other hand, Justin Thomas, Jordan Spieth, Brooks Koepka, Collin Morikawa, Sam Burns, and Rickie Fowler were selected by the team captain Johnson.
The tournament is set to start on September 29 and run through the weekend to have its finale on Sunday, October 1 in Rome, Italy.
Tiger Woods's Ryder Cup record
Tiger Woods played in the Ryder Cup eight times. He made his debut at the biennial event in 1997 and did not miss an event until 2008.
He then played at the tournament in 2010. Woods last appeared at the Ryder Cup in 2018.
His all-time Ryder Cup record is 13-21-3. He has won 13 events, lost 21 and has three halves.
Here is the Tiger Woods record at the Ryder Cup over the years:
- Total Ryder Cups contested: 8
- Years: 1997, 1999, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2010, 2012, 2018
- All-time record: 13-21-3 (wins-losses- halves)
- U.S. record (when Tiger Woods was part of the team): 1-7-0 (W-L-H)
- Singles: 4-2-2(W-L-H)
- Foursomes: 4-9-1 (W-L-H)
- Four-ball: 5-10-0 (W-L-H)
Woods met with an accident in 2021 and has only played in a few tournaments in the last two years. This year, he competed at the Masters earlier in April but withdrew from the tournament after making the cut.
Tiger Woods was spotted playing golf with his son Charlie Woods at the Florida Golf Course last month. Fans hope that he will soon return to playing golf.