Tiger Woods selected for America’s Presidents Cup team

Fred Couples has announced that he will be using his captain’s pick for the Presidents Cup on 14-time major winner Tiger Woods.

Woods, whose free fall down the world rankings has been the preeminent topic in the world of golf, is coming off his worst performance in a major, missing the cut and shooting a 10-over 150 at the 2011 PGA Championship.

“I told him that he’s going to be on the team,” Couples said in a statement. “The question came up and there’s no reason for me to wait until September 26 to pick Tiger.”

Couples claimed last week that he wanted to see Woods compete in a few more events before coming to a decision, but he opted to trust his instincts instead of waiting for him to return to his once-dominant form.

Injuries are expected to prevent Woods from playing again before the captains must make their decisions, prompting Couples to rely on the past and controversially select the golfer who is ranked 28th on the Presidents Cup list.

“He’s the best player in the world forever,” Couples said of Woods. “Is he playing well right now? No. He almost won Augusta four months ago, so you don’t do that by playing poor golf.”

The 2011 Presidents Cup is scheduled to take place from November 14-20 in Australia.