Oosthuizen leads in Mexico as pair of newcomers shine

Get ready for U.S. Presidents Cup playing captain Tiger Woods. So said Fred Couples and Steve Stricker in a conference call with reporters Tuesday, when they along with Zach Johnson were named as three of Woods’ captain’s assistants for the Presidents Cup at Royal Melbourne Golf Club, Dec. 9-15. Oh, and Phil Mickelson, who just won again at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am at 48? Yeah, he’ll play, too. “He’ll be on the team and so will Tiger,â€� said Couples, the captain of the winning U.S. Team in 2009, 2011 and 2013. “And to have those two be down there in Australia playing will just make our lives, Steve’s and mine and Zach’s, so much easier because they’re both great, great players.â€� Stricker, who captained the U.S. to a 19-11 win at the 2017 Presidents Cup at Liberty National, also said he fully expects Woods to make his 10th team as a player and first since 2015. “Like Freddie says, we all expect him to be a part of the team as a player,â€� Stricker said. “It will add another dimension for all of us to take probably some of the responsibility off of his plate.â€� Mickelson, who vaulted to 6th in the FedExCup with his fifth victory at Pebble Beach, has played on all 12 U.S. Presidents Cup teams since the event began in ’94. Woods, 43, notched his 80th PGA TOUR win at the TOUR Championship last season. He was briefly tied with Mickelson for the all-time lead in Presidents Cup wins (24) until Mickelson ran his total all the way to 26 at Liberty National two years ago, when Woods was an assistant. Royal Melbourne was the site of Woods’ first-ever match in ’98, when he and Couples beat Ernie Els and Vijay Singh 5 and 4. Ultimately, though, the International Team won 20.5-11.5. That remains the only loss for the Americans, who have gone 10-1-1 since the event began in ’94. Hale Irwin, who was the U.S. captain in that inaugural event, also played for the American side, going 2-1-0. He’s the only playing captain in the history of the Presidents Cup. Woods could change all that come December. “Hopefully, he can delegate some of that (responsibility as captain),â€� Stricker said, “even though I find that he probably would have a hard time delegating some of that away because he’s one of those guys that wants to do it and do it right and put his stamp on it. “But we’ll be there to help him and serve him, like Zach said,â€� Stricker added. “If he makes the team as a player, we’re going to have to probably do some more things to take some of that off his plate so he can concentrate on playing and getting those points, which we all know are so vital and so important. Every point is.â€�

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