Tiger Woods has officially withdrawn his name from the list of players to be considered for the US Ryder Cup Team. He announced this last Wednesday. It can be remembered that Tom Watson has been considering Woods for a slot in the US Team for the Ryder Cup and his consideration was Woods' health and performance.
Woods just had a back surgery last March 31 and after which, his performance during the tournaments has been poor.
Woods said "While I greatly appreciate Tom thinking about me for a possible captain's pick, I must take myself out of consideration. I've been told by my doctors and trainer that my back muscles need to be rehabilitated and healed. They've advised me not to play or practice now."
He added "I'm extremely disappointed that I won't be ready for the competition. The U.S. team and the Ryder Cup mean too much to me not to be able to give it my best. I'll be cheering for the U.S. team. I think we have an outstanding squad going into the matches."
Woods had said that he will be back to compete at the World Challenge set for Dec. 4-7 at Isleworth in Orlando.
This would have to mean that he will be skipping the October team event in Argentina along with Matt Kuchar. This has been informed by Woods' agent Mark Steinberg.
Steinberg said "We all saw that he was in pain. To me, the good news is that the residual effect of him playing the last few weeks has been muscular and not directly related to the surgical procedure that was done. He's going to come back at the World Challenge and we'll take it from there. He needs this time to rest and rehabilitate."
On the other hand, Watson has already received the news of Woods withdrawal and he has also made his statement with regards to this outcome saying "My primary wish is for Tiger to be healthy and competitive, and I hope that he'll return to the game very soon. Of course I'm disappointed that Tiger Woods has asked to not be considered for the U.S. Ryder Cup team, and that his health is not where he would like it to be.
"However, I think we can all agree that we need Tiger Woods in this great sport, and he has taken the high road by informing me early on in the selection process. My focus will be on identifying three players to join the U.S. team and give us the best chance for success at Gleneagles."
