Stricker right man for Ryder Cup captaincy

Tiger Woods has revealed Steve Stricker was the unanimous choice to captain the United States in the 2020 Ryder Cup and has backed his former partner to bring passion and preparation to the role.

Stricker has been handed the task of regaining the trophy after last year’s heavy defeat to Europe in France.

The 51-year-old was a vicecaptain to Jim Furyk at Le Golf National and the roles will be reversed next year, with Stricker wasting no time in starting to assemble his backroom staff.

Woods will expect to be playing rather than assisting from the sidelines following his resurgence and the 14-time major winner gave Stricker a ringing endorsement.

“The players were unanimous and we felt the same way on the (Ryder Cup) committee,” said Woods, who lost all three of his matches with Stricker on the latter’s final playing appearance at Medinah in 2012.

“All of us felt that it was his time, he was deserving. What he has done as a leader both in the Presidents Cups and Ryder Cups has been tremendous and we just thought that with the way the guys follow Stricks he would be the best captain there is for 2020.

“Everyone knows he’s such a nice guy, but beneath all of that is this fieriness and competitiveness and he’s also one of the more detail-oriented guys that we know of.

“He’ll be prepared, he’ll be understanding and is very good at communicating with the players and getting their opinions but also putting his foot down when he has to.”

Stricker, who captained the United States to Presidents Cup victory in 2017, has already spoken to Patrick Reed after his comments following the defeat in Paris, the Masters champion blaming Jordan Spieth for the end of their successful partnership and claiming it was “not smart” of Furyk to leave him out of two sessions.

“As far as he’s concerned and I am too it has been handled, he’s apologised and spoke to the players,” added Stricker, who is the first American captain without a major title.

“I asked him what to expect and he’s like ‘I’ve got your back, I’m there for the team.’ He’s very committed, he didn’t like how that all transpired in Paris but we’re about moving on and going forward and I hope to have him as part of this team if he’s playing well.”