Tiger Woods made unprecedented move with awkward third-person announcement for Team USA
The upcoming Presidents Cup will see Keegan Bradley ditch his role as assistant captain to star as a player.
Bradley is set to captain Team USA at the next Ryder Cup – and Rory McIlroy has been among those to insist being a player-captain is not advisable.
Woods was arguably the USA’s best player at the 2019 Presidents Cup, despite being captain
Woods was arguably the USA’s best player at the 2019 Presidents Cup, despite being captainCredit: Getty
That might be true for mere mortals. But for the great Tiger Woods in 2019, it was lightwork.
The 15-time major winner was chosen to lead USA at the biennial Presidents Cup when his professional future was in doubt.
Woods underwent spinal fusion surgery in February 2017 and lobbied for the position after the Presidents Cup at Liberty National later that year.
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However, when the decision was announced in March 2018, Woods was building one of the most remarkable comebacks in the history of sport.
By the time Woods needed to announce his wildcard picks in November, he had two more wins on the PGA Tour, equalling the all-time record of 82.
Not to mention, Woods was the reigning Masters champion.
Suddenly, the then-43-year-old was in line to become the first playing-captain since Hale Irwin in 1994.
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But having narrowly missed out on automatic qualification, Woods needed to become the first captain to ever to pick himself for the Presidents Cup.
“As captain, I’m going to choose Tiger Woods as the last player on the team,” Woods said during the Golf Channel broadcast.
“He’s made, what, nine Cups? He’s played in Australia twice in the Presidents Cup. So this will be his third appearance there as a player.
Woods justified his selection with three points out of threeCredit: Getty
“And uh, I find it interesting I’m talking in third-person.”
Being a captain at one of golf’s big team events takes a lot of work, but Woods managed to juggle both roles masterfully.
The superstar golfer played in three matches at Australia’s Royal Melbourne and won all of them.
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With the USA at risk of a shocking defeat to the International team, Woods teamed up with Justin Thomas for two huge points on Thursday and Friday, before benching himself on Saturday.
Woods returned to lead USA out in Sunday Singles, taking on the International team’s best player in Mexico’s Abraham Ancer.
The American made seven birdies in 16 holes to send Ancer for an early bath with a 3&2 win, helping USA come back from 10-8 down to win 16-14.
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His winning putt against Ancer has become the stuff of legend after an edited video of Woods shaking the Mexican’s hand before the putt goes in went viral.
While Woods did not take off quite as quickly as the below clip suggests, he was reaching for his cap before it hit the hole, in classic Tiger fashion.
Fast forward to 2024 and Woods was not in contention to be selected for the Presidents Cup.
His buddy Thomas also missed out after captain Jim Furyk announced his wildcard picks on Tuesday.
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The International Team will play host in Canada as the matchplay event gets underway on September 27.
Woods is still suffering from the effects of a near-fatal car accident in 2021.
These days, his only competitive outings come in the majors and a small handful of PGA Tour events.
Despite ongoing struggles with injuries and questions over his ability to compete, Woods still believes he can win at the highest level.
Speaking to talkSPORT.com at The Open in July, he said: “I’ll play as long as I can play and I feel like I can win the event.”
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When pressed on whether that belief has wavered amid a number of poor finishes in recent years, he simply replied: “No.”
