Tiger Woods: Fred Couples Made Mistake Giving Tiger Spot on Presidents Cup Team

Tiger Woods has been irrelevant on the golf course for the better part of two years. He is still fascinating to watch because he is who he is, but that does not change the fact that he is not a good golfer right now. Nothing Woods has done justifies Fred Couples guaranteeing him a spot on the United States Presidents Cup team. 

Even Geoff Ogilvy, who is on the international team, was quick to criticize Couples for ensuring Woods that he will have a spot on the team:

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"You can't ever say that picking Tiger Woods is a bad selection, but the way he picked him... I don't agree with the way he picked him, announcing it months early, basically telling the guys who are on the fringe of the U.S. team there's really only going to be one pick."

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While Ogilvy gives Couples the benefit of the doubt, saying that picking Tiger is never bad, I contend that it was a dumb move. 

Tiger took 11 weeks off earlier this season to heal from various injuries and work on fixing his swing. He just came back in August. In three tournaments since returning, he has finished 37th, missed the cut and 30th. 

The swing that he took so much time off to fix is still a disaster, and playing in an event like the Presidents Cup is not going to do anything to help him fix it. 

So what was Couples thinking?

The only logical explanation for taking Tiger over someone more deserving—Ogilvy mentions Keegan Bradley, who has actually won two tournaments this year—is publicity. No one is going to draw more attention, for better or worse, than Tiger.

I would like to believe that is not the reason that Tiger made the team, but the sad reality of the situation is there are politics at work and he means ratings, which means increases ad revenue for the event, which means more money for the players. 

On performance alone, there is no way that Tiger has any business being picked for the Presidents Cup. The fact that Couples made the decision nearly one month before he had to makes the situation even worse. 

If Tiger would have come back strong and made it impossible for him to be left off the team, that would be one thing, but he hasn't. Couples handled this situation terribly and deserves the criticism that he is getting right now.