Tiger Woods couldn’t represent the United States on the course, but he still wanted to help win a Ryder Cup.
So Woods, who is recovering from leg injuries he suffered in a February car wreck, sent good luck and motivational messages to the American crew. He also offered tips to players and their captain. Some of the golfers talked about how much the Tiger messages meant to them as the Ryder Cup was starting in Wisconsin.
“We had a nice message from Tiger last night,” American Ryder Cup team member Xander Schauffele told reporters. “And obviously not going to reveal what it said, but Pat and I knew. We referred to it a few times a day, and we knew what we needed to do,” Schauffele said.
“We knew he was fist-pumping from the couch. Whether he was on crutches or not, he’s as fired up as any back at home. So it’s nice to have his support.”
The Tiger text. 🐅 pic.twitter.com/FJ2MrY8fn0
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) September 25, 2021
It truly would’ve been nice to see a fist-pumping Tiger Woods on Whistling Straits celebrating with his American teammates. He probably would have made the Ryder Cup team for this year, if not for the horrific leg injuries he suffered back in February. Woods represented the United States eight times at the Ryder Cup.
Patrick Cantlay said he visited with Tiger, in person, days before the tournament.
“(There’s) no better role model and no better leader,” Cantlay said. And just somebody that you can always learn from. I saw him last week at home, and just picked his brain on Ryder Cup and applied some of that here.”
Tiger Woods Messages Helped a Ryder Cup Team with Six Rookies
Tiger also gave some tips to Tony Finau on the best approach to playing four-ball. “That’s the big thing is he’s so invested in this team,” Finau said. “He’s not here physically, but the gist of basically what he was saying was I’m cheering you guys on, I’m right there with you and go fight and make us proud.
“We were able to do that, and if TW’s watching, thanks for that text, brother,” Finau said. “I think it helped us a lot.”
Woods even stayed in touch with team captain Steve Stricker.
“The overall picture was just wishing the guys good luck and congratulations for making the team,” Stricker said. “And a few personal things from Tiger himself. He’s a friend of a lot of these guys and these guys look up to him. And I lean on him a lot throughout this whole process. So it was great to hear from him and provide some words of encouragement to these guys.”
Team USA beat Europe, 19 to 9. It was Europe’s worst loss in the every-other-year event. But coming into the tournament, no one really was predicting such a lopsided American win. Half of the 12-man American team were Ryder Cup rookies.
By the tournament’s end, Tiger was congratulating his friends for the Ryder Cup win. He wanted them to know that he couldn’t wait to “see and celebrate with all of you!”
