No doubt the golfing world lost a lot of sleep last night agonizing over who might be chosen Tuesday afternoon as captain’s picks for the upcoming Presidents Cup matches in South Korea.
The waiting is over, the picks are in:
U.S. captain Jay Haas chose Phil Mickelson, then named his son Bill as the 11th and 12th members of the squad.
“He’s the leader of our team on the course and in the team room,” the elder Haas said of Mickelson, who will be the most experienced player in the matches. On the selection of his son: “I probably would have taken the 11th player in the points standings regardless of his name.”
International captain Nick Price chose Aussie Steve Bowditch and South Korean Sang Moon Bae. Price cited Bae’s experience on the site for the matches — the Jack Nicklaus Golf Club, South Korea.
Price also announced the format for the first day’s matches — foursomes, also known as alternate shot.
These matches have been pretty one-sided through their history. The United States carries an 8-1-1 record. The only International win came back in 1998.
Here’s the lineup for the two teams:
United States: Jordan Spieth, Bubba Watson, Jimmy Walker, Zach Johnson, Jim Furyk, Rickie Fowler, Dustin Johnson, Patrick Reed, Matt Kuchar, Chris Kirk, Phil Mickelson, Bill Haas.
International: Jason Day, Louis Oosthuizen, Adam Scott, Hideki Matsuyama, Branden Grace, Marc Leishman, Anirban Lahiri, Charl Schwartzel, Thongchai Jaidee, Danny Lee, Steve Bowditch, Sang Moon Bae.
The matches will be played Oct. 8-11.
