Tiger Woods Makes US Ryder Cup Team

(NewsCore) - Tiger Woods had no hesitation in accepting Corey Pavin's offer of a captain's pick for next month's Ryder Cup event in Wales, Sky Sports reported late Tuesday.

The world No. 1 failed to qualify for the American team for Celtic Manor after a slump in his game following lurid revelations about his personal life.

But since starting to work with coach Sean Foley at last month's U.S. PGA, there has been a marked improvement and Monday he finished 11th at The Barclays FedEx Cup play-off event.

"I asked him last night if he wanted to be part of the team and he said 'absolutely,'" Pavin said. "I am happy that he is very excited about playing and he wants to be on a winning team."

It will be the sixth Ryder Cup team for Woods, but the first one in which he has needed a wildcard. He has only once been on a winning U.S. team -- in 1999 at Brookline.

The 14-time major winner finished top of the Ryder Cup standings every time since his debut in 1997 -- though he missed the 2008 victory as he was recovering from knee surgery.

He has 71 victories on the PGA Tour but a poor record in the Ryder Cup, winning just 11 points from a possible 25.

His commitment to the Ryder Cup has been questioned in the past, but Woods insisted: "I always love playing in Ryder Cup, being part of the team. It is an experience you will never forget.

"It is one of those things I have been looking forward to. It is nice my game is coming around. I feel my game is not very far away. It makes it a lot easier going into a pressure-packed environment."

Woods scored a maximum five points in last October's Presidents Cup, but accepts that playing Europe -- especially away from home -- is very different.

"The atmosphere is certainly different -- it's definitely more charged," he added. "But it's great fun to play in front of fans that are that excited. You want to play well to make the crowd go quiet. That's the objective of every team."

Pavin handed the other wildcards to Stewart Cink, Zach Johnson and Rickie Fowler.

European captain Colin Montgomerie insisted he is "delighted" Woods will be on the American team.

"Corey has used his four captain's picks to good effect as I knew he would," he said. "I am glad we now know the 12 men we will face at Celtic Manor.

"Like my European team, the American side has an excellent blend of youthful talent and I am delighted to see Tiger Woods amongst Corey's selections -- the Ryder Cup is a better event with him in it.

"I wish the American team safe travels and we all look forward to welcoming them to Wales."

The event gets underway on October 1.

Read more: Sky Sports