TOUR Insider: Couples picks big hitters for Harding Park

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Lucas Glover has averaged nearly 300 yards off the tee this season.

Sep. 9, 2009
By Stan Awtrey, PGATOUR.COM Contributor

Fred Couples may or may not be successful as captain of the U.S. Presidents Cup team, but he passed his first test with aplomb. He made a pair of wise selections with his Captain's Picks and improved the odds that the U.S. will retain the trophy for a fifth consecutive time.

Couples could have selected some of his old buddies who have played on international teams and no one would have batted an eye (although Couples still has explaining to do about this Michael Jordan assistant captain thing). But instead of relying on the good ol' boy network, he relied on the good young boy network. In selecting under-30s Lucas Glover and Hunter Mahan to the team, Couples has stacked the deck in his favor by adding two of the sport's best young players.

Couples deviated only slightly from the final Presidents Cup points list. Glover was No. 11 and Mahan was No. 13. But Capt. Freddie has made no secret that Glover and Mahan were his pre-announcement favorites all along. He even told Glover as much after the PGA Championship.

"I think it's a no-brainer, I really do," Couples said. "I chose the two guys and that's the toughest thing I'll have to do the whole time, and hopefully they'll go to San Francisco and play well."

U.S. Open champion Glover, 29, was a member of the 2007 Presidents Cup team and went 2-3. Mahan, 27, also played on the Presidents Cup team in 2007 after being selected by Captain Jack Nicklaus and went 2-3. He made the 2008 Ryder Cup team and went 2-0-3. Both have the sort of tenacity that comes in handy during a never-say-die team competition.

The man who can cry foul the loudest is Brian Gay, who has won twice on TOUR this year, and was No. 12 on the points list. Gay has the right to be disappointed that he was skipped over, but he can't match Mahan's international experience. While Gay has an exceptional short game and can be streaky good, he was penalized by not being a long hitter and Harding Park is a place where International captain Greg Norman said "you have to drive the golf ball long."

Brian Gay

Couples said Gay "is taking it pretty hard, which he should. I was overlooked one time, but I got picked a few times."

The other guy who earned serious consideration was Dustin Johnson, who has international experience as part of the 2007 Walker Cup team. Johnson, 15th on the Presidents Cup's points list, made it a tough decision for Couples when he tied for fourth at the Deutsche Bank Championship. In his last four competitions, Johnson has finished no worse than a tie for 22nd. He's won twice on TOUR since earning his card in 2007 and is capable of going low at any minute. He certainly gave Couples some head-scratching moments.

"I think Hunter was my pick all along, and he did nothing to push his way off the team, whereas Dustin did everything to make me basically make about 40 more calls," Couples said. "Dustin will be on a lot of teams, believe me."

The top 10 on the points list includes Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Steve Stricker, Kenny Perry, Zach Johnson, Stewart Cink, Sean O'Hair, Jim Furyk, Anthony Kim and Justin Leonard. All but Woods (knee surgery), Johnson and O'Hair were on the 2008 Ryder Cup team that defeated the Europeans at Valhalla. This team is loaded.

It's been a while since the Americans were favored in a team competition, but that's the role they'll have next month in San Francisco. The points list worked like it was supposed to and produced the 10 best players. Couples kept the train on the tracks by adding the two best guys with his Captain's Picks. Next month we'll see if he can match the skills that Paul Azinger showed in directing the Americans to a Ryder Cup victory, or if he'll "go Faldo" and mess things up.

So far, so good.

Stan Awtrey is a freelance columnist for PGATOUR.COM. His views do not necessarily reflect the views of the PGA TOUR.