Will Tiger Woods have a role?

JF: In the back of my mind, I feel like for symmetry, for us, for the U.S. side with the Presidents Cup and Ryder Cup every year it’s great to kind of bring the next captain on. So, you know, I didn’t know exactly who that person was going to be. I felt like, you know, you had great selections and choices out there, but when Keegan was named, I definitely wanted to reach out and obviously it’s usually not just someone that’s like vying to make your team that’s kind of a new one for me. 

I think it was a very natural move. You know, he’s played on some of these teams before. He’s got some experience, but he’s never been in that team room as a captain and so I wanted to give him that experience. We’ve been friends for a long time. You know, I think he brings a lot of excitement, right. You can see the passion in Keegan’s eyes. You can hear it in his voice, whether it’s about a Presidents Cup or Ryder Cup or just on a daily basis. He brings a lot of energy and so, you know, I think when you kind of round out your team, all your captains kind of have a role and a position and I think for him I expect it’ll be a learning experience for him but he brings a lot to the table he knows these guys he’s playing not only week in and week out as he playing out on PGA Tour he’s playing an extremely high level and he’s playing with these guys quite often so he knows their games very well and he brings a lot to the table for our team. 

He definitely made a statement last week. Jumped to No. 10 (in the point standings), raised some eyebrows. When he was named Ryder Cup, he was in the top 20 in our points. I said to him then, ‘First and foremost I know you’re a player and you want to make these teams and I know how much they mean to you.’ 

He said, ‘No matter what happens I’m super-excited to be an assistant captain, this is going to help me out so much for next year. I love being part of these teams. I’m 150 percent in and I’m ready to go.’ I told him, ‘When we’re in discussion and talking about picks we’re not going to talk about you in front of you, that’s not fair.’ He’s been great. He’s made my job easy.