Woods apologises for Ryder Cup flop

Tiger Woods confirmed that he apologised to the four rookies on the United States’ Ryder Cup team for not contributing a single point in their devastating loss to Europe.

Woods, who was benched for the first time ever in the Ryder Cup or Presidents Cup at Medinah, lost all three of his matches with Steve Stricker before halving his singles with Francesco Molinari after Martin Kaymer’s win over Stricker in the match ahead had ensured Europe retained the trophy.

Reports in the US yesterday said that Woods sat down with Keegan Bradley, Jason Dufner, Webb Simpson and Brandt Snedeker and said sorry for not getting the points which would have given Davis Love’s side an even bigger lead than the 10-6 advantage they took into the final day. “I had an opportunity to earn three points in team sessions but I did not do that. It was tough,” said Woods. “We had a four-point lead and we went 0-3. If we could have earned a couple of points it would have been a pretty good lead going into Sunday’s singles.”

Asked about the disappointment of his sixth defeat in seven Ryder Cup appearances, Woods, added: “It probably did not set in for a few days because I had two sick kids to take care of. I was focused on them. Then I started to talk to my friends, guys on the team, and once it started sinking in, the position we were in and what had transpired, it got a little tough for a couple of days. Then you have to move on to the next event. We lose a lot more than we win in this sport and you learn to move on.”

Asked if he would like to captain the US team in the future, and the 36-year-old – speaking ahead of this week’s Turkish Airlines World Golf Final – added: “One day that would be fantastic. It would be a huge honour, hopefully it doesn’t happen in the near future. I would like to be able to play for a lot more teams but certainly one day when my career is slowing down or it’s over, it would be huge to be part of a Ryder Cup from the captaincy side.”

The one thing lacking from the sensational Ryder Cup at Medinah will take place in Turkey this week, with Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods facing each other at least once in the battle for a first prize of £935,000.

McIlroy and Woods, the world’s top two players, were kept apart for the second Ryder Cup in succession in Chicago, despite the Northern Irishman playing in all five sessions. However, the duo have been drawn in the same group at the Turkish Airlines World Golf Final, a new eight-man event which is not part of the European Tour but features a total purse of £3.2million, with £935,000 to the winner. Former Masters champion Charl Schwartzel and 2012 Players Championship winner Matt Kuchar complete Group One, with Lee Westwood, Justin Rose, Hunter Mahan and US Open champion Webb Simpson in Group Two.