Nyheder

To pick or not to pick Tiger Woods? That is the Ryder Cup poser facing U.S. captain Corey Pavin as he ponders his four wildcard selections for the Oct. 1-3 biennial competition being held in Wales.

Pavin will announce his captain's picks on Sept. 7 to round out his 12-man team and the pros and cons of Woods getting the nod have sparked widespread debate within the game.

The American world number one, comfortably the leading player of his generation, has been a shadow of his former dominant self since his private life unraveled at the end of last year amid revelations of serial philandering.

He has struggled for form, has considered hiring a new swing coach in Canadian Sean Foley and has yet to win this season since returning to the game in April from a self-imposed break of five months while trying to repair his marriage.

On top of that, the 14-times major champion has never come across publicly as a passionate participant at the Ryder Cup.

He has a losing record in both the foursomes and fourball formats and has always made the case that the greatest players are remembered for performances in the majors and not in team golf.

Woods unwittingly dug himself into a hole during the 2002 WGC-American Express Championship when he was asked whether he would prefer to win that week's event or the Ryder Cup to follow.

"Here this week," he replied. "I can think of a million reasons why," he added with a smile, when pressed to explain why he would prefer to win the World Golf Championships event with a first prize of $1 million.

'MILLION REASONS'

At the Ryder Cup the following week, Woods said his comments at Mount Juliet in Ireland about the "million reasons" had been made in fun and taken totally out of context.

"And that's what happens if you just read it," he added. "You say: 'Oh my God.' But if you actually saw me on videotape and how I said it, you would say: 'Ah, OK I understand.'

"But you can't really compare the two. I think they're two completely different animals."

While Woods has long structured his playing schedule around the four majors in his life-long quest to surpass the record 18 piled up by his childhood idol Jack Nicklaus, his distaste for losing in any form of golf cannot be underestimated.

"With the Ryder Cup, I know that he hates to lose more than anything," Woods's fellow American and good friend Charles Howell III said.

"And there's nothing I'd like more than to partner with him in it because I know -- ask anybody that's played him and they know -- he does not like to lose, at all."

Steve Stricker, who partnered Woods at last year's Presidents Cup where the world number one finished with a perfect record of five wins out of five, fully agreed.

"He brings a lot of things (to the Ryder Cup)," Stricker said. "He brings his desire to win, and that feeds off on everybody.

STRONG BELIEF

"I know it did with me when I played with him in that Presidents Cup. There isn't a guy that wants to win more than he does. He's got a strong belief and desire to win."

Stricker also felt Woods, who has a favourable Ryder Cup singles record of 3-1-1, was unfairly described as a 'non-team' player.

"Believe it or not, he's a great guy to be around," the American world number four said. "He's there playing ping pong with us. He's around; everybody's around.

"He leads by example more than anything and he wants to win very badly. I enjoy being around him. I know other guys look up to him and enjoy being around him."

A veteran of five Ryder Cups as a player, Woods failed to qualify automatically for this year's edition -- the first time that has happened since he turned professional in late 1996 -- and will have to rely on a captain's pick.

While Pavin has refused to speculate on his likely selections to take on Europe at the Celtic Manor Resort in Wales, he hinted earlier this month that the struggling world number one would be on his team.

"Well, he's the number one player in the world," Pavin said during a news conference after the U.S. PGA Championship. "Obviously I'm considering him highly, no doubt about it. He's playing better.

"He wants to play, he wants to be a part of the team. But it's going to be my judgment whether I pick him or not. I don't think there's any cons."