Shain: Vice captain's role brings Woods to new engagement

Tiger Woods, vice captain.

Roll that one around in your head a little bit.

(And for those silently snickering at the use of "Tiger Woods" and "vice" in the same sentence, kindly stop. The PGA of America adopted the phrasing, so we might as well get used to it.)

The point is that Woods' new U.S. Ryder Cup appointment seems out of place. Ten months before the first ball is struck at Hazeltine National, and the game's most commanding presence for nearly two decades is already penciled into a supporting role.

That could change, of course. Woods could emerge pain-free from his third back surgery, rekindle one of his old, successful swing patterns and win a tournament or three next summer. Maybe a major. How does the title "playing vice captain" sound?

OK, that's bucking some serious odds. But here's the difference: The Tiger of even a few years ago never would have made this deal, certainly not this early, because he expected to play his way onto the squad.

Age and injuries, though, have a way of tempering expectations. And Woods finds himself about 3-down to those opponents. He turns 40 next month, and his last injury-free year was ... well, he got through 2013, but the five years before and everything after have been ragged.

Consider that in the eight seasons since his last major crown -- the 2008 U.S. Open -- he has made the Ryder Cup or Presidents Cup roster just four times on his own merit, including the 2008 Ryder Cup, which he had to sit out. Twice he was a captain's pick, and he wasn't much in the thought process the past two years.

So this might be the sharpest indicator yet that 2016 could very well be a lost year in getting his back right. And along with that, a period of transition might be timely.

"He wants to make the team. Don't mistake that's his No. 1 goal," said U.S. captain Davis Love III. "But he's also committed to helping me do whatever we can to get ready."

And if that should be merely in an advisory role, Woods seems ready to run with it.

The duplexity wasn't lost on some of Europe's more prominent Ryder Cup names. Rory McIlroy didn't hear the news until after he'd completed Thursday's opening round at the European Tour finale in Dubai, and he didn't know quite what to make of it.

Inevitably, his thoughts zeroed on Woods' physical condition.

"Just sort of makes me think what really his health is like," McIlroy told reporters, "and how he feels like he's going to come back from that."

Likewise, last year's winning captain Paul McGinley found the timing odd -- not only for Woods, but fellow vice captain appointees Steve Stricker and Jim Furyk.

"I'm surprised that they've done it so early," McGinley told Sky Sports. "Normally in Europe, we might announce one or two vice captains well in advance, but we don't really until the 11th hour. We give everyone the best chance they have of making the team."

That might pertain especially to Furyk, 46, who captured his second RBC Heritage crown just seven months ago. He's still No. 9 in the world rankings and was a prime contender for FedExCup riches until a wrist injury took him out of the final two events.

There's nothing to keep Furyk from playing his way into Love's lineup, either. Or Stricker. But that's a storyline to follow through next spring and summer.

Woods always has been viewed through a different prism, one that often cast his thirst for individual records as leaving him lacking in team spirit. How could Woods ever find that shut-out-all-distraction "zone" when he was alternating shots with a partner?

Nor does a 13-17-3 Ryder Cup record help.

Perhaps this announcement begins to rehabilitate that reputation.

"This is something I want to do," Woods said in a statement. "I will continue to do whatever I can to help win the Cup back. Once I'm fully healthy, I'd like to try to make the team, too. But either way, I'm very excited to work with Davis, the other vice captains and the players to get a U.S. victory."

Even before Wednesday, Love had told friends about how he spent a fair chunk of his time at the Presidents Cup dealing with Woods, asking strategy questions from 13 time zones away.

"It was 5:30 in the morning and Fred (Couples) told me, 'Tiger wants you to call him,' " the captain told Golf Channel. "He's not getting to play, so he's excited and he wants to help."

That certainly doesn't sound like someone who's disengaged. According to those around the PGA of America's Ryder Cup Task Force, he's been no less active in those discussions.

It's a side of Woods the public hasn't had much chance to see. Now seems the right time. And, who knows, in this circumstance it might be where he's most valuable.

Follow golf writer Jeff Shain on Twitter at twitter.com/JeffShain

This story was originally published November 20, 2015 at 8:33 AM with the headline "Shain: Vice captain's role brings Woods to new engagement."