Masters champion Patrick Reed has claimed fellow American Tiger Woods needs to improve his form if he is to be selected as a wildcard for the USA Ryder Cup team.

Woods is currently 31st in the American points standings and he looks set to miss out on one of the eight automatic qualifying spots.

The 14-time Major winner has already been named as an assistant to captain Jim Furyk but he has yet to decide on his four wildcard picks for the team competition, which gets underway in Paris in September.

Woods is still on the comeback trail after spinal fusion surgery in April 2017 but he has climbed up to 69th this season after three top-10 finishes.

Despite his improving form, Woods has a losing record at the Ryder Cup and has not played since 2012 and Reed believes he may need to find another level to confirm his place.

He told BBC Sport: “It all depends. Let’s see how he does these next two majors and these next couple events he plays.

“I feel like the picks are going to come down to who is kind of playing really good golf down the stretch.

“I feel like he’s trending in the right direction. I feel like he’s playing some really good golf.

The times I’ve played with him he’s hit the ball really well. He’s made some putts.

“I feel like there’s probably a pick or two that are going to be for experience, but at the same time you need to keep a couple of those picks for guys that are trending and playing some good golf.”

USA are 1.80 favourites to win the tournament, with Europe 2.15, while the draw is 12.00.