Team USA rookie Xander Schauffele has revealed that a "fired up" Tiger Woods is inspiring Steve Stricker's men from the comfort of his own home.
The 15-time major winner missed out altogether for this year's Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits following his horror car crash in February in Los Angeles.
His absence this year will come as a big blow, but the star-studded American squad, which consists of eight of the top 10 players in the world, will still be quietly confident of reclaiming the Ryder Cup come Sunday evening.
And Woods, despite his absence, is still doing everything he can to spur his compatriots onto glory at Whistling Straits this weekend, with the Americans having lost nine of the last 12 editions of the Ryder Cup.
"We had a nice message from Tiger last night," admitted Schauffele, who shone alongside fellow rookie Patrick Cantlay in the opening foursomes session on Friday with an emphatic 5&3 victory over Rory McIlroy and Ian Poulter.
"Obviously not going to reveal what it said, but Pat and I knew. We referred to it a few times a day, and we knew what we needed to do.
"We knew he was fist pumping from the couch. Whether he was on crutches or not, he was—he's as fired up as any back at home. So it's nice to have his support."
Schauffele's playing partner Cantlay also spoke about the impact Woods was having from. back home.
"No better role model and no better leader, and just somebody that you can always learn from," Cantlay added.
"So I saw him last week at home, and just picked his brain on Ryder Cup and applied some of that here today."
Woods' support is clearly doing the job for the Americans as they stormed into an early lead on the opening day in Wisconsin against Europe.
After Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth were defeated by Sergio Garcia and Jon Rahm in the first foursomes match of the day, America then won the next three points.
They have since continued from where they left off in the fourballs action.
Ryder Cup Live odds
Get all the latest live Ryder Cup odds at Grosvenor Sport as well as an odds boost on Europe to win day two!
