Associated Press
JOHNS CREEK, Ga. ó Until winning the PGA Championship, the coolest thing in golf that happened to Keegan Bradley during his amazing rookie season was getting a phone call from Fred Couples in May after he won his first PGA Tour event.
But if he doesnít get another phone call from Couples next month, that would be just cold.
Bradleyís second win of the year moved him up to No. 18 in the Presidents Cup standings, giving him three more tournaments ó all of them with $8 million purses ó to try to move into the top 10 and become the first tour rookie to qualify for a U.S. team. If not, Couples makes two captainís picks on Sept. 26.
Except the way Couples is talking, he only has one pick. The other already is set aside for Tiger Woods.
ěHe doesnít have to prove a lot to any captain, I donít think,î Couples said at the Memorial, when Woods was in the middle of his three-month break from golf to heal injuries in his left leg.
Even when Woods returned to competition two weeks ago at Firestone, Couples again suggested that Woods only had to indicate his desire to play for him to be added to the Presidents Cup team.
ěAs far as Iím concerned, if he is not in the top 10 … he will be on our team, no doubt,î Couples told The Golf Channel.
That would mean Couples is willing to spend a captainís pick on a guy who has played two full tournaments since the Masters, breaking par only once in eight rounds.
It means he will pick a player who might have competed only once in about three months before the Presidents Cup. Woods is under contract to play in the Australian Open in Sydney on Nov. 10-13, which is one week before the matches at Royal Melbourne.