Last Thursday, the 2019 Presidents Cup captain for the American side made his captain’s picks.
Usually, that sentence wouldn’t garner that much attention outside of hardcore golf fans. But when the American captain is Tiger Woods there will always be more eyeballs.
The speculation leading up to Tiger’s announcement of the picks centered around whether or not he would pick himself for the team. While playing captains were more commonplace back in the day, it has become increasingly rare. It basically goes back to the days of Bill Russell serving as player-coach of the Boston Celtics. I never thought he would pass up that unique opportunity.
So since Tiger picking himself wasn’t much of a surprise to me, I focused more on the other three picks. Those included Patrick Reed, Tony Finau, and Gary Woodland. Let’s mull over these guys and see how they fit.
Tony Finau
This was a no-brainer for me. Fans less in the know typically argue that he only has one win. This argument is all wrong. The guy is one of the most consistent players in the world and has plenty of high finishes. In match play, you need to play well, period. Tony does that.
The 2018 Ryder Cup was a coming-out party for Tony. He played very well and absolutely obliterated Tommy Fleetwood (who was on fire) in singles. Adding him into this Presidents Cup made sense based on his play but also for integrating him into the American team fabric.
Gary Woodland
I saw some mild surprise on social media over this pick. I’m not sure why. Sure he faltered a bit after his US Open win but he picked it up recently in Asia. He had top-fives at both his starts.
I get legitimately excited thinking about Gary hitting his patented stingers around Royal Melbourne. They’ll be running out for miles and bounding all over the place.
Patrick Reed
Here is the real surprise for me. Patrick popped off during the Ryder Cup, seemingly alienating Tiger, Jordan Spieth, Jim Furyk, and others. Personally, I thought he would have to qualify for any future teams.
Apparently I was wrong about that. I’ve seen the take that Tiger pulled a masterstroke of leadership by trying to reintegrate Reed into the team. I’m not sure I buy that. That could very well be what he is doing, I’m just not sure it will work.
In my opinion, Reed needed to earn his way back onto the team. He was way out of line in calling out his fellow players the way he did. I hope this most recent selection will work out but I have my doubts.
I think the 2019 Presidents Cup could be closer than most people think. This is truly a road game and the golf course will be firm and fast. That being said, the Americans should still win because their talent is far superior. I’m looking forward to watching in December.