CNN
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Tiger Woods can be part of the US Rider Cup team – or at least, Zach Johnson is not ruling it.
Next to the Sony Open in Hawaii, US captain Johnson said he would not exempt to select Woods to compete in the tournament if the 47 -year -old man did not qualify automatically for the team.
Johnson said at a media conference on Wednesday, “I would only consider being in the team, if he was feeling – if he was scoring some numbers and some scores, number 1, where he is showing some signs of being competitive,” Johnson said at a media conference on Wednesday.
“And then number 2, this discussion will be with other people who are a part of that team, and especially him. If I have any confidence in Tiger Woods, then it is that it is very invested in this team and future cups. Invested extremely. I can’t say this enough, ”Johnson said.
“And then I think you will do anything and everything for the betterment of the team. I think he will say … I don’t like to based on perceptions … but I am confident that he would say, ‘Yes, I can play, or not, I can’t.’
Last year, Johnson confirmed that Woods would be part of the US Rider Cup “in some capacity,” saying that Woods had made it “priority”.
Johnson said, “Who he is and what he is, I can’t tell you right now: I don’t know if he will come here next year, but he will be part of this team in some capacity.”
However, Woods’ health can complicate this, Johnson accepted.
The US Rider Cup captain said, “He has gone through some things late, which makes it difficult, whether it is a journey or what you are.”
The injury has obstructed Woods’ recent career, with his playing time since he faced severe leg injuries in a car accident in February 2021.
The 47 -year -old withdrew from Hero World Challenge in December, citing his leg pain, and on various points seen the movement during the seventh edition of the match that month.
Woods told Golf Digest after his accident in 2021, “I think there is something that is realistic, playing a day tour, never full -time, never again, but never, but Mr. (Ben) choose and choose like Hogan.”
“Choose and choose some events in a year and you play around it. You practice around him, and you gear yourself for him. And you play. I think how to play it from now on.
“This is an unfortunate reality, but this is my reality. And I understand it, and I accept it. ,
A biennial competition that is optional between Europe and America, the Rider Cup is being played in Italy for the first time this year – 25 September to 1 October – Marco Simone at Golf and Country Club, which is 10 miles from the center of Rome.
Team US withdrew after a historically prominent performance on Europe in the strates that whistle the Rider Cup in 2021.
