Tiger Woods took a personal stake in Ryder Cup result

— -- During the chaotic celebration just moments after the United States clinched victory against Europe at the Ryder Cup last month, Zach Johnson was looking for somebody to hug. He was walking down the 18th hole at Hazeltine when he saw Tiger Woods -- make that vice captain Tiger Woods -- barreling toward him. "T sees me out of the corner of his eye and starts running at me," Johnson recalled. "We had a big old hug. I was emotional; he was emotional."

Then, Woods took off.

He was the assistant responsible for a quartet of team members that included Matt Kuchar, who was still playing in the last match on the course. As Woods quickly explained to Johnson following that tearful embrace, even though the overall result was decided, he still needed to oversee his man's match to fruition.

That's just one story about Woods' first venture in a captaincy role, but there are plenty of others. Like the one about him calling captain Davis Love III with some ideas about potential Saturday pairings -- before the roster was even finalized. Or the one about him teaming up with Jack Nicklaus during the week to poke fun at Love for a poor shot from years earlier. Or the one about Woods good-naturedly getting ribbed by team members in the aftermath for failing to play in each of the two U.S. victories this century.

"I told him, 'All I know is that the last two Ryder Cups we won, you weren't a part of, man,'" Brandt Snedeker recalled with a laugh. "Maybe we've got a trend going on."

All of these stories about Woods' time as an assistant are preceded and followed by connective tissue that tells more about his dedication to the role than any anecdote. He worked at it. He strategized. He formulated plans. And most importantly, despite what so many have often insisted in regard to his attitude toward this biennial competition, he cared -- a lot.