Woods Expresses Interest in Couples, Furyk

By GOLF CHANNEL Newsroom

Don’t expect to see a Tiger Woods-Phil Mickelson pairing at the Presidents Cup. But the world’s No. 1 has a few possible partners in mind.
 
“I haven’t talked to (U.S. captain) Jack Nicklaus about who I might be paired with,” Woods said in his monthly newsletter. “I just want to win five points; whatever it takes to win five points.
 

“I played with Fred Couples in Australia (in the 1998 Presidents Cup) and we went 1-1. …I get along great with Freddie. That would be fun.”
 
Woods, who has an 8-7-0 career Presidents Cup record, also said he wouldn’t mind being paired with 2003 U.S. Open champion Jim Furyk.
 
“He and I have been on every team together since 1997 and have never played together,” Woods said.
 
The Presidents Cup will take place Sept. 22-25 at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Lake Manassas, Va. The biennial competition pits 12 American-born players against 12 non-European players. The U.S. and International teams share possession of the Cup after a 17-17 tie in 2003 in George, South Africa.
 
Woods will have a different caddie during the event, as his regular caddie Steve Williams will be in New Zealand for the birth of his first child. He will employ Billy Foster, who used to work for Darren Clarke and Seve Ballesteros.
 
“Darren and I used to play a lot of practice rounds together and I got to know Billy over the years. He’s a great caddie, works awfully hard, and I’ve always gotten along well with him,” Woods said.
 
In the newsletter, Woods also addressed the controversy surrounding his early departure from the PGA Championship. The conclusion of the final round was delayed until Monday. Woods had already posted a final score of 2 under and decided to fly home Sunday night instead of waiting to see if any of the players ahead of him would falter on the closing holes in the morning and force a playoff.
 
Phil Mickelson won the event at 4 under, while Steve Elkington and Thomas Bjorn finished at 3 under.
 
“I’m not really surprised people have second-guessed me for leaving the PGA Championship on Sunday night. It’s me. Everything I do is always critiqued. More so than most players,” he said.
 
“I have absolutely zero second thoughts about flying home on Sunday night. Not with the quality of players that were up there on the top of that board.”
 
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