Tiger Woods ‘eager to get back’ and make Ryder Cup team, says Davis Love III

Tiger Woods may or may not start at the Masters in two weeks but he apparently plans to be back in time to play his way on to the 2016 U.S. Ryder Cup squad.

“He’s expecting to make the team,” Davis Love III, captain of the unit that will take on the Europeans at Hazeltine next year told BBC Radio on Tuesday. “He’s eager to get back.”

Woods and Love have been in regular communication — “a lot more than we have in the past,” Love said — and the winner of 14 major titles is chipper and striving to return to competition.

“He still has a good attitude and he’s working hard,” said Love. “I know that I’ve talked to a few people around him [who] say he’s working very hard.”

Woods stepped away from the PGA Tour last month after withdrawing from the Farmers Insurance Open after 11 holes. That WD followed a career-worst 82 and missed cut in Phoenix, with both experiences leading Woods to say his game was “unacceptable for tournament play.”

When he excused himself from last week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational, Woods said he was “hopeful” of making a start at the Masters on April 9 but has said nothing since then about his immediate plans.

Love shed little light on whether Woods had an Augusta itinerary, other than to note Tiger was “working hard” and “I suppose he has a plan probably for the Masters, I would think.”

At this point, though, it’s all about the the biennial contests.

“Right now, it’s Ryder Cup we’re talking about,” Love said. “We got guys trying to make the Presidents Cup team. He’s anxious about getting back to playing so he can get some points for Presidents Cup and then start working on Ryder Cup.

“I wouldn’t count him out quite yet,” said Love, who will serve as assistant captain to Jay Haas at the international event in South Korea in October.