US team captain and player … that is the role picked by Tiger Woods after confirming his final four for the Presidents Cup clash at Royal Melbourne in December.
Woods chose Tony Finau, Patrick Reed, Gary Woodland and himself, making him the second-ever playing captain in Presidents Cup history.
Tiger Woods, who finished No. 13 in the U.S. Team standings, will become the Presidents Cup’s second-ever playing captain after Hale Irwin, 1994.
He is making his ninth career Presidents Cup appearance and starts with a record of 24-15-1 since his first appearance on the 1998 U.S. Team, and he is one of five players to earn a perfect 5-0-0 record during a single event (2009).
His 24 matches won ranks second all-time to Phil Mickelson’s 26 and his six victories in Singles matches are the most in the event’s history. Woods also holed the winning putt for the U.S. Team in 2009, 2011 (at Royal Melbourne) and 2013 – the only player to clinch the Cup three times.
‘As captain, I’m going to choose Tiger Woods as the last player on the team,’ Woods said.
‘He’s made, what, nine Cups and he’s played in Australia twice in the Presidents Cup, so this will be his third appearance as a player. It’s going to be difficult, but also I have three amazing assistants with Fred, Strick and Zach, and that helps a lot, two guys that have won Presidents Cups and one will be a future captain along the line in the near future. Three great minds that will help me when I’m playing.
‘It’s going to be a lot of work, but something I’ve been looking forward to for a long time. I’ve been vice captain in two Cups, so understanding it and seeing it, what those roles are is a little bizarre, and seeing it from a different side is really going to help.’
United States Team
Patrick Cantlay
Bryson DeChambeau
Tony Finau
Dustin Johnson
Brooks Koepka
Matt Kuchar
Patrick Reed
Xander Schauffele
Webb Simpson
Justin Thomas
Gary Woodland
Tiger Woods
