US Team assistant captain Michael Jordan watches the play during a practice round prior to the start of The Presidents Cup at Harding Park Golf Course on October 6, 2009 in San Francisco, California. (SCOTT HALLERAN/AFP)

SAN FRANCISCO, October 6, 2009 (AFP) - Michael Jordan will give world number one Tiger Woods his own space this week at the Presidents Cup golf matches, but the 14-time major champion has been able to rely upon his pal Jordan when needed.

Jordan will serve as a US team assistant when the Americans face the Internationals in the latest edition of the biennial team matches.

"We’re like big brother-little brother. I’m the big brother," Jordan said. "I don’t crowd him. I keep my distance because at certain times a little brother’s got to learn how to survive.

"But when I see him struggling, when he’s battling with himself a lot of times, I text him and say, is everything OK? We get on the phone and talk through whatever issues he might have."

If there is anyone who can relate to what Woods is going through in pursuit of the record 18 major golf titles won by Jack Nicklaus, it is Jordan, who led the Chicago Bulls to six NBA titles in eight years and became the first global superstar in basketball.

"It’s not much advice when a guy’s walking through the same things that you’ve basically have gone through but with a little bit more focus," Jordan said.

Jordan said that since the death of Earl Woods, Tiger's mentor and father, Jordan has been able to be somewhat of a similar trusted sounding board for the world's greatest golfer when he needs some friendly advice.

"When he calls me now, I say, 'What would your father think?'" Jordan said. "'I don’t want to take the credit. You know what to do. You just need someone to tell you or reinforce what you’re thinking. That’s what I am here.'

"That has evolved over the 12-13 years that I’ve known him. I consciously to some degree stay out of his way but I’m close enough if he needs me."

Woods, who appeared on TV playing golf at age 2, has been handling most of his own challenges on and off the course just fine, following in Jordan's footsteps of the world's most famous athlete with a similar sense of privacy and business acumen.

"These are trials and tribulations that you’ve been built for since you were a kid," Jordan has told Woods. "You just need someone to tell you."