Lee Westwood says Woods could have 'adverse effect' on U.S. Ryder Cup team

Tiger Woods and Lee Westwood will be on opposite sides at the Ryder Cup. (Getty Images)

This one might go up on the U.S. Ryder Cup team bulletin board — if they still have such things — at Hazeltine National next week.

Lee Westwood, who will be making his 10th consecutive Ryder Cup appearance for Europe, suggested Tiger Woods, even in his capacity as a vice-captain for Davis Love III, might bring down the 12-man American team.

“I don’t know what impact there will be from having Tiger around,” Westwood said, according to ESPN U.K. “[The U.S. team] have always struggled to find a partner for Tiger that’s been successful.”

Woods, who carries a sub-standard 13-17-3 Ryder Cup record, has indeed struggled to find a steady partner, and American captains have tried just about anyone they can think of in hopes of creating a formidable duo with the 14-time major winner. However, there’s one small problem with Westwood’s thinking: Woods isn’t competing this time around.

“He could have an adverse effect in the team room,” Westwood continued. “People have always seemed to try to do too much when they have partnered him. It might be different if he’s one of the vice-captains — you don’t know.”

Alright, so Westwood’s logic is that Woods flummoxed his Ryder Cup partners, therefore he could, as a vice-captain, fluster all 12 players. Perhaps. Conversely, it could turn into a “win one for the Gipper” moment.

More likely is that all of the American players, including the 10 of 11 named with previous losing experience, will turn their focus to beating Europe, not appeasing Woods.

Ryan Ballengee is a Yahoo Sports contributor. Find him on Facebook and Twitter.

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