He hasn’t been here for eight years and with the likelihood Australia may not host another Presidents Cup within the next decade, combined with his age (43) and the new wraparound PGA Tour that seemingly never ends, the question is obvious: will this be Tiger Woods’ last hurrah Down Under?
Following the US Presidents Cup Captain’s announcement of his four captain’s picks today, including the most newsworthy name among them – Tiger Woods – we put the question to the man himself.
“Well, I don’t know if this is the last time,” Tiger told Australian Golf Digest editor-in-chief Brad Clifton via a media teleconference. “I can still play the (Australian) Open or some other event that’s down there … there’s always that chance.
“Let’s just focus on us coming to Royal Melbourne and just really enjoying that competition. It’s going to be a lot of fun for all of us – me included. Going up against Ernie and his team is no easy task. Playing in front of the Aussie fanatics and home crowd, they’ll be right into it. It will be bipartisan, as it should be.”
Woods’ Australian Open reference is sure to prick the ears of Golf Australia officials, who missed out on landing their prized catch this year due to a date clash with Woods’ Hero World Challenge event in the Bahamas.
When Woods recently won the inaugural Zozo Championship by three strokes in a year in which he also won the Masters, the likelihood of his making himself a playing captain no doubt increased substantially. “I think the player got the captain’s attention,” he said then.
His self-selection will ensure he joins a very exclusive club when he arrives at Royal Melbourne. The last playing captain in a Presidents Cup was Hale Irwin, way back in 1994.
