USA Ryder Cup captain Jim Furyk was full of praise for Tiger Woods at this morning’s press conference in St. Louis.

With the conclusion of the 100th PGA Championship at Bellerive, eight of the 12 spots on Ryder Cup USA have been filled by automatic qualifiers.

Brooks Koepka, Dustin Johnson, Justin Thomas, Patrick Reed, Bubba Watson, Jordan Spieth, Rickie Fowler and Webb Simpson – in that order – are the automatic qualifiers for the 2018 U.S. team.

All but Fowler and Spieth have tasted success this year.

The four remaining spots will be Captain’s selections. Three will be announced by Captain Jim Furyk following the Dell Technologies Championship on Sept. 3, and the final selection will be announced after the BMW Championship on Sept. 9.

But Furyk remained coy on whether he would choose Woods with one of his four at-large picks.

“I’m not sure the numbers are always that important when I look down the list,” Furyk said.

“What is important is how well Tiger has played. Sixth place at The Open Championship, a second place at the PGA. His game — I think the word he used is ‘trending.’ His game is trending. So it’s great to see him playing well.

“For me, the numbers are nice, good to look at, but not always the most important. We want the players who are going to help us be successful.”of folks out there who probably think he can help us. … I realize Tiger is a story. I realize he’s playing very well, and I’m excited to see that.”

Furky was also quizzed on the contribution Woods has made to the USA in terms of being a vice-captain.

Woods has said going back to February, when he was named a vice captain, that he wanted to play on the team as well. Furyk said Monday that if Woods is picked, he will add another vice captain although he expects plenty of input from Woods regardless.

“He priceless, to be honest with you,” Furyk said. “He’s been really a big help to our captains in both 2016 and 2017 from a strategy perspective, from personnel, personalities, and also really serving on the golf course. I mean, walking with players. I think it’s been a big boost having the best player maybe to ever live following your group and being there for support.

“So he’s a huge value and someone — I rely on every vice captain heavily. With David Love serving as a captain twice and Steve Stricke being our Presidents Cup captain last year, they intimately know these players and know them very well. So to have them there is great. But Tiger serves that purpose as a vice captain or a player and looking forward to having his help.”