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If Tiger Woods is to be captain of play at this year's Presidents Cup in Australia, this will involve the full membership of the team's eight automatic qualifying teams and his assistants, captains.
Woods said Monday that although the final decision lies with him, he will not participate as a player unless this is what everyone wants. And even then, he might not.
"My job as a captain is to build the best team possible," Woods said on a conference call Monday to discuss the eight players who automatically qualified for the team after the BMW Championship. "We're trying to get the top 12 guys together, and we're going to follow the whole process of communicating with the top eight players and vice captains.
"It's something we're definitely going to talk about, ultimately it will be my call, but I want to have all their opinions before this decision is made."
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Woods, 43, was considered a lock almost after winning the Masters and was the first captain to play since Hale Irwin played a dual role at the first Presidents Cup in 1994. (Arnold Palmer was the last captain to play the Ryder Cup in 1963).
But his mediocre play in the next six tournaments – including two missed cups and one draw – made this prospect more uncertain.
Possibilities for the four selections include American champion Gary Woodland; Patrick Reed, 2018 Masters Champion; Rickie Fowler, a veteran of several Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup teams; and Tony Finau, who was one of the only positives for Americans last year at the Ryder Cup in Paris.
Jordan Spieth and Phil Mickelson, who have both had a poor season but have been on multiple teams – Mickelson will not miss any of the competitions dating back to his first Ryder Cup in 1995. Young players such as Matthew Wolff and Collin Morikawa – both who have recently won tournaments just after becoming pro – would also be intriguing.
The eight automatic qualifiers are Brooks Koepka, Dustin Johnson, Justin Thomas, Patrick Cantlay, Webb Simpson, Bryson DeChambeau, Xander Schauffele and Matt Kuchar.
The three assistants are Steve Stricker, Fred Couples and Zach Johnson. Woods has not ruled out naming a fourth, a job that could go to Mickelson.
The Presidents' Cup will be held from December 11th to 15th at the Royal Melbourne, the site of the only American defeat in 1998. It was the first time Woods had attended the Presidents Cup, when the US team was led by Jack Nicklaus. Ernie Els is the captain of the international team. The United States is 10-1-1 and won an unparalleled Presidents Cup two years ago at Liberty National.
Woods has failed to qualify for this week's Tour Championship and is not expected to play until the end of October at the Zozo Championship in Japan. The four choices of the captain will be made in early November.
As for what Woods needs to see for himself, he said: "It's practice, it's playing, staying alive .. Obviously, I'm playing in Japan, so it will help.
"But I think it has a lot to do with a lot of my competitions that I'm going to have here [in South Florida]. I'm going to play with a lot of guys here. They will get ready for some fall events, we will have matches, and it's always fun because we are able to talk about trash, have fun and try to put ourselves in the pockets of each other. It's something I really rely on, and obviously the event in Japan. "
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