Tiger Woods the captain chose Tiger Woods the player Thursday night among his four at-large selections for the U.S. Presidents Cup team that will play against an International squad next month in Australia. Woods, who was expected to pick himself after he won the Zozo Championship recently, also added Tony Finau, U.S. Open champion Gary Woodland and Patrick Reed to the 12-man team.
The three other additions all finished ahead of Woods in the final Presidents Cup standings that yielded the eight automatic qualifiers in August. Rickie Fowler, at No. 11 , was not chosen, but the Ryder Cup/Presidents Cup veteran has not played since the Tour Championship. Fowler, Kevin Na and Kevin Kisner would be possibilities for Woods should Brooks Koepka be unable to go due to injury. Koepka, the No. 1-ranked player in the world, underwent stem cell treatment on his left knee following the Tour Championship, then aggravated the knee issue when slipping on a cart path three weeks ago at the CJ Cup. Woods can choose any player if Koepka is unable to play.
The United States will be an overwhelming favorite for the Dec. 12-15 event, with 11 of the 12 players ranked among the top 16 in the world — ahead of the International team’s highest-ranked player, No. 17 Adam Scott.