Tiger Woods is determined to improve his Ryder Cup record

Tiger Woods has vowed to make up for his past Ryder Cup disappointing performance by leading the US to victory over Europe at Medinah this week. The 14-time major tournament winner has a losing record in the competition and has led his team to victory just once in six attempts."I didn't earn the points I was put out there for," Woods said. "Hopefully I can do that this week, and hopefully the other guys can do the same and we can get this rolling." In 29 Ryder Cup matches Woods has lost 14, won 13 and halved two. Phil Mickelson and Jim Furyk, alongside Tiger Woods, represent the experienced core of captain Davis Love III's team, but not one of them has a winning Ryder Cup record. "In order to win Cups you have to earn points, and we have certainly not earned points," said Woods. "On top of that, Phil, Jim and myself have been put out a lot during those years, so if we are not earning points then it's hard to win Ryder Cups that way." Over the years Woods has lost matches to underdogs as Costantino Rocca and Paul McGinley, but Europe's Graeme McDowell defended the American champion: "I think it's very difficult to be critical of Tiger," said McDowell. "It's a huge game for an underdog to play a Tiger Woods, and they get up for it. They are not expected to win. When expectation levels drop, game tends to improve. A guy who plays Tiger Woods, or a player of that calibre, doesn't expect to win so he lets it all go and he plays out of his skin and gets the upset." "For us to represent the USA and our team-mates is something else," Tiger Woods said. "There's so much heat on you, which is very different. Playing for team-mates adds an element to that - it means so much more because it is our country, and it is our team-mates. We want to get to know each other and get our games right and be ready for Ryder Cup week. It comes down to one moment." Woods won both the US PGA Championships played at Medinah, in 1999 and 2006, but he doesn't think this gave him a significant advantage over his European rivals. "1999 was a big one for me. To have won my second major was so important - it validated my first (at the Masters in 1997) and gave me the confidence that I could go ahead," he said. "But it's a different course again. I'm going to need to do my homework so that whoever I go out with I will ready and able to contribute, to understand this golf course and how to play it." The action starts on Friday and the outright odds from Bet365 are as follows: USA to win - 8/11 Europe to win - 6/4 Tie - 11/1