TOUR Insider: One week left for captain's picks

text size

Getty Images

Will Lucas Glover (left), Hunter Mahan, Rory Sabbatini and Jeev Milkha Singh play at Harding Park GC?

NORTON, Mass. -- Fred Couples will be competing alongside his U.S. Presidents Cup hopefuls this week at the Deutsche Bank Championship.

RELATED LINKS

European Tour Insider
Fantasy Insider
Champions Tour Insider

Greg Norman, on the other hand, will need a remote control, satellite dish and an alarm clock set for three different time zones to keep track of the players he's considering for his two Captain's Picks.

The suspense will be over on Tuesday when the two long-time friends and spirited competitors head to Washington, D.C., to announce the final two players who will complete their teams for The Presidents Cup.

Norman and Couples will reveal their much anticipated Captain's Picks during a 1:30 p.m. media event at the National Press Club. The biennial matches will be held Oct. 6-11 at Harding Park Golf Club in San Francisco.

First, though, there is one last chance to impress the U.S. and International captains.

All of the players Couples is considering are at TPC Boston for the second event of the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup. But Norman's potential picks -- and he's kept his cards closer to the vest -- are playing in Switzerland, Japan and this Boston suburb.

The 10 automatic qualifiers were determined by the standings at the end of the PGA Championship two weeks ago. The U.S. Team, which holds a 5-1-1 edge in the matches, appears on paper to be the favorite with seven players who have won 15 PGA TOUR events this year, including Tiger Woods with five.

Related links

Expert picks: Deutsche Bank
Sleepers: Deutsche Bank
Bubble Watch: Boston
Prior starts at TPC Boston
Spotlight: Vijay Singh
Rankings: Deutsche Bank

The Internationals, though, boast two of 2009's four major winners -- Masters champ Angel Cabrera and Y.E. Yang, who took down Tiger Woods at the PGA -- as well as three others who have a combined total of four wins this year.

There's experience on each squad with Phil Mickelson and Fiji's Vijay Singh each having competed in all seven previous Presidents Cups. Both teams have two rookies, too -- Anthony Kim (who did play in the Ryder Cup) and Sean O'Hair for the Americans and Camilo Villegas and Yang on the International side.

Norman may have the biggest challenge with players from seven different countries already on the team. However, only two -- Yang, who is from Korea, and Cabrera, an Argentine -- are not fluent in English. Villegas' native language is Spanish, though.

When Yang won the PGA, his second TOUR win of the season, the 37-year-old Korean jumped 27 spots onto the International Team. In the process, he knocked out Rory Sabbatini, who won the HP Byron Nelson Championship earlier this year and played in the 2007 Presidents Cup.

Sabbatini appears to be a prime candidate for a Captain's Pick. Beyond the South African, though, Norman has a variety of players to consider -- and indeed, he said in his recent blog on presidentscup.com that he could look down to No. 40 on the points list for potential players.

Couples, though, appears focused on three -- and maybe, four -- players. He has already said that U.S. Open champion Lucas Glover and Hunter Mahan, who went 2-3-0 at his first President Cup and was unbeaten in last year's Ryder Cup, are 80 percent a lock.

But Brian Gay, a two-time winner already in 2009, and Nick Watney, who won the Buick Invitational, played well at The Barclays last week. A win at the Deutsche Bank Championship on Monday by either of those could make Couples' decision more difficult.

Here's how the candidates stack up:

Favored for the U.S. Team

• Lucas Glover: He ended up 11th in the standings but looked strong at Hazeltine in finishing fifth at the PGA. And don't worry -- that 81 he shot on Friday at The Barclays, when he played 11 holes without a driver after cracking it on the range, was an aberration.

• Hunter Mahan: Couples likes Mahan, and why not? He was solid in his Presidents Cup debut and one of the stars at the Ryder Cup at Valhalla. Not to mention, he's only missed one cut this year and while he hasn't won, he has 14 finishes among the top 25.

Still in the running for the U.S. Team

• Brian Gay: With two wins since April, both in commanding fashion, he has to be considered. A tie for 12th at The Barclays that included a closing 67 was an indication that his balky back may not be an issue anymore, too.

• Nick Watney: He's back on track after a hot start that included a win and solo second at the World Golf Championships-CA Championship, as well as six other top-25s in his first nine tournaments. He shot three rounds in the 60s at Liberty National to tie for sixth, but he probably needs a win at TPC Boston to sway Couples.

Longshot for the U.S. Team

• Heath Slocum: Yes, he finished 52nd in the standings. And you're right, his only international team experience was with his good friend Boo Weekley at the World Cup in 2007. But he did win last week at The Barclays and if he can make it two in a row at TPC Boston come Monday, Couples would have to consider a player on that kind of a roll.

Favored for the International Team

• Rory Sabbatini: He only produced a half-point for the Internationals at Royal Montreal in 2007 but Norman likes the South African's enthusiasm. He also has a tie for second in New Orleans, as well as the win in Dallas, among his four top-10s. He's playing at TPC Boston this week.

• Jeev Milka Singh: If Norman is looking for someone to fit in with a variety of people, Singh would fit the bill. The soft-spoken man from India, who has won 18 times around the globe, finished fourth at the CA Championship and appears recovered from a rib injury after shooting four rounds in the 60s in Greensboro. How he plays at the Omega European Masters this week will be key.

Still in the running for the International Team

• Thongchai Jaidee: Don't overlook the man from Thailand. He won the Enjoy Jakarta Indonesian Open and Ballantine's Championship earlier this year on the European Tour, where he ranks 15th in the Order of Merit. He also tied for 13th at the British Open. Jaidee is playing in Switzerland this week.

• Ryo Ishikawa: The Japanese teenager won his third event on the Japan Tour, and second of the season, three weeks ago. His results in the U.S. have been mixed, but Ishikawa did make the cut in the PGA -- and he is just 17 years old. He's playing in the Fujisankei Classic this week.

Longshots for the International Team

• Stephen Ames: The Canadian from Trinidad & Tobago didn't help his chances with a missed cut at The Barclays last week. But he does have top-10s in two of his last five events and another chance to impress at TPC Boston.

• Michael Sim: It might be hard for Norman to choose his countryman, but the Aussie certainly has game. He's risen to No. 61 in the Official World Golf Ranking and recently earned an automatic promotion to the PGA TOUR when he won for the third time on the Nationwide Tour in just 12 starts. At the very least, he's sure to be a player for the future.

• K.J. Choi: He has a 3-6-0 record in two previous Presidents Cup teams, including a 2-0 mark in Singles. Granted, his performance this year hasn't been up to Choi's standards with just one top-10 and missed cuts in five of his last seven starts. But Choi could be a steadying factor for his countryman, Yang, who is making his first Presidents Cup appearance.