Tiger Woods checked ‘ego’ at the door for Ryder Cup, per Jordan Spieth

Jordan Spieth and Scottie Scheffler recently sat down with No Laying Up, a popular golf podcast. The video they dropped teasing the episode gave insight into one of the greatest golfers ever, Tiger Woods.

“Tiger is not getting any credit for how involved he was and how selfless it was for him not to come for almost that very reason, and he recognized it,” Spieth said. “For somebody that great — I don’t feel he has an ego.”

Scheffler asked Spieth when his first Ryder Cup was, and the three-time major winner conveyed 2014. Tom Watson was the captain that year. There was a lot of speculation as to whether or not he would select Woods as a captain’s pick.

Woods did not qualify for the event. He missed the cut at the PGA Championship that year and did not have one of his best seasons. However, there was still pressure on Watson to choose him because he is Tiger Woods after all.

Tiger was battling injuries at the time, and he withdrew from consideration because his doctors advised it, per a release on Woods’ website. Could he have played? Maybe, but instead, Woods took his name out of the hat.

“He wants to win, and he felt like the best case was to not be a distraction by going, but I mean, he was super involved,” Spieth said. I don’t know if people really realize that.”

Woods’ ego is no stranger to the public eye, but for someone who was there and witnessed things firsthand, Spieth gave some deeper insight into Tiger’s character.

Savannah Leigh Richardson is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. You can follow her on Twitter @SportsGirlSL and on Instagram @savannah_leigh_sports for more golf coverage. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough too.