Tiger Woods

WOODS PROFILE Age: 28 Ryder Cup caps: 3 (1997, 1999 winners, 2002) Record: Played 15, won 5, halved 2 Points scoring ratio: 40% Position qualified: 1st World ranking: 2nd

Tiger Woods has played every match of every Ryder Cup he has appeared in but his record belies his status as the world number one.

The American has won only a third of his matches in three Ryder Cups and has received criticism for a perceived lack of unity with his team.

Woods has only won once in three singles matches and his half in 2002 came when the match was over.

He was impotent at The Belfry after Curtis Strange sent him out last.

The 28-year-old eight-time major winner has clinched a total of 40 PGA Tour victories as well as five in Europe.

His only victory this season came in the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship and he has had seven other top-five finishes but he has not won a major since the 2002 US Open.

Woods carved his name into the record books when in 2001 he clinched a "Tiger Slam" - holding all four major titles at the same time.

He won the US Open, Open and USPGA in 2000 to complete a career Grand Slam of all majors and then landed a second green jacket at the Masters the following April.

Only Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player and Jack Nicklaus had previously completed a career Grand Slam and at 24 Woods was the youngest player to do so.

Woods became the first player since Hogan in 1953 to win three majors in one season, while his nine Tour victories in one year in 2000 were also the most since Sam Snead won 11 in 1950.

Did you know? Tiger Woods' real first name is Eldrick. He was nicknamed after a friend of his father Earl's from his Vietnam war days.

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