VERONA, New York (AP) — Tiger Woods is honored to be a captain’s pick for the Presidents Cup and believes he earned the selection.
Woods was at a charity event hosted by his former Stanford University roommate on Wednesday when he nodded yes after being asked if he thought he deserved the selection a week ago by U.S. captain Fred Couples.
“I haven’t played. Fred iterated that he wanted me on the Presidents Cup team and he wanted me to play,” Woods said before teeing off at Notay Begay III’s tournament. “He’s the captain. It’s his prerogative of who he picks. They wanted me on the team and I’m honored to be a part of the team. It’s a wonderful mix of younger guys and older veterans. I also wanted to play and go ahead and test what I’ve been working on.”
Woods has been out of golf for much of the summer, missing two majors. He has played only eight U.S. PGA Tour events this year because of injuries to his left knee and Achilles tendon.
Couples said he wanted Woods to play more before the Australian Open in November, a week before the Presidents Cup in Melbourne, and he’s scheduled to play the Frys.com Open in California the first week of October. It will be his first time competing in the tour’s Fall Series as he tries to get his game ready for the Presidents Cup.
The Frys.com Open is from Oct. 6-9 at CordeValle Golf Club, about 45 minutes south of Stanford.
Woods went four months without completing a tournament — from the Masters in April to the Bridgestone Invitational in August — so he could make sure his injuries were fully healed.
He played at Firestone and said that his leg felt as good as it had in a long time, but his results have raised questions about his game. He tied for 37th at Firestone, then missed the cut at the U.S. PGA Championship, the first time he finished outside the top 100 at a major.
When he plays the Frys.com Open, it will be his first event in six weeks.
“I’ve been hurt the majority of the year and haven’t quite gotten to be able to (get) the reps that I need to do what (swing coach) Sean (Foley) wants me to do,” Woods said. “We were right on track at Augusta, but unfortunately I got hurt there and then it was a huge setback. We’re just trying to get back to where I was at Augusta, and it’s coming around. I just need more reps.”