Tiger Woods was not present for the announcement of Davis Love III as the next U.S. Ryder Cup captain, but he did release a statement supporting both the selection and the process that led to it.
Woods was one of 11 members of the Ryder Cup task force, a group charged with selecting a captain for the 2016 matches at Hazeltine. Other players on the task force included Jim Furyk, Steve Stricker, Phil Mickelson and Rickie Fowler, with Mickelson and Fowler both attending Tuesday’s announcement at PGA of America headquarters in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.
After Love was formally introduced as captain, the PGA of America released a statement on behalf of Woods:
Tiger Woods on @Love3d: “I want to congratulate Davis on his selection. I have great respect for him as a person, player & captain." (1/5)
— PGA of America (@PGA) February 24, 2015
Woods: I know he’ll do an outstanding job leading the 2016 US Team. (2/5)
— PGA of America (@PGA) February 24, 2015
Woods: I'm proud of what the Task Force accomplished making substantive changes in the Captain's selection process & qualifying system (3/5)
— PGA of America (@PGA) February 24, 2015
Woods: It’s also an honor to be on PGA of America Ryder Cup Committee, helping select future Captain’s, Vice Captain’s & other duties (4/5)
— PGA of America (@PGA) February 24, 2015
Woods: "We are all fully committed to winning back the Cup in 2016 and beyond." (5/5)
— PGA of America (@PGA) February 24, 2015
Woods has been a member of seven Ryder Cup teams, most recently in 2012 when he played under Love at Medinah. He announced on Feb. 11 that he would be taking a break from competitive golf, and this week will be missing the Honda Classic for the first time since 2011.
As referenced in the statement, Woods was announced as one of six members of a committee that will help continue the efforts of the task force into future years. He will be joined by Mickelson and Love along with PGA president Derek Sprague, CEO Pete Bevacqua and vice president Paul Levy.