DUBLIN, Ohio -- Aside from winning, Tiger Woods has a couple of big goals as his comeback progresses in 2018, including making the U.S. Ryder Cup team that will play against Europe in late September.
Already named one of captain Jim Furyk's vice captains -- he was also an assistant at the 2016 Ryder Cup and the 2017 Presidents Cup -- Woods is hoping to add duties inside the ropes.
"Of course I want to play. I want to [be there] as a player," Woods said Wednesday following the pro-am for the Memorial Tournament that begins Thursday. "I have a lot of work to do between now and then to be part of the team as a player."
Woods, 42, noted that potential team members are being fitted this week at Muirfield Village for the various uniforms to be worn during the matches at Le Golf National outside Paris from Sept. 28 to 30.
"I know that the players and the captains wear different outfits as part of the Ryder Cup, and I would really like to screw that up," Woods said.
Woods is 33rd in the U.S. standings, having played eight times this season and not playing in any of the 2017 Ryder Cup points-earning events. The top eight through the PGA Championship automatically make the 12-player team; those spots are currently occupied by Patrick Reed, Justin Thomas, Dustin Johnson, Jordan Spieth, Brooks Koepka, Bubba Watson, Rickie Fowler and Phil Mickelson.
The remaining four spots will be at-large picks made by Furyk, with three coming after the Dell Technologies Championship, which concludes Sept. 3, and the final pick coming a week later after the BMW Championship.
Woods will have a difficult time cracking the top eight, having missed the qualifying events last year and not being eligible for the two World Golf Championship tournaments already played this year. Players earn one point for every $1,000 earned, with 1.5 points per $1,000 going to players who make the cut in the major championships; the winners of the majors get two points for every $1,000 earned.
But if Woods is showing good form and moves closer to the top 12, he stands a good bet of being one of Furyk's four at-large picks.
Starting with the Memorial, Woods likely has five, maybe six, events to move up the points list. He is playing the U.S. Open, The National, The Open and the PGA Championship. If he qualifies, he will also play the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational the week prior to the PGA Championship.
That is another big goal for Woods, who has won eight times at Firestone Country Club, which will host the event for the last time. To qualify, Woods must either win an event or be among the top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking by July 30. He is currently 83rd.
Woods needs a solo third-place finish at the Memorial to move into the top 50. Short of that, he will continue the quest in two weeks at the U.S. Open, to be played at Shinnecock Hills on Long Island.
A three-time U.S. Open winner, Woods spent Monday and Tuesday practicing at Shinnecock.
"Unfortunately it rained the day before I got there and the golf course played really long," he said. "I'm sure it probably won't play as long as we played it -- 7,500 yards, par-70 is a long golf course. And they've made some pretty significant changes since the last time that I have seen it. They added 500 yards to it. That's quite significant."
Woods tied for 17th at the 2004 U.S. Open at Shinnecock, where only winner Retief Goosen and Mickelson finished under par.
He is playing the first two rounds of the Memorial with Justin Rose, who is coming off a victory at the Fort Worth Invitational, and defending champion Jason Dufner. They tee off Thursday at 8:26 a.m. ET.