PGA Golf

Official announcement made on Presidents Cup Captain

The PGA Tour released the official announcement confirming that Fred Couples has been named as the 2009 Presidents Cup captain.

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. — The PGA TOUR announced Tuesday that Presidents Cup veterans Fred Couples and Greg Norman will serve as Captains for the United States and International Teams, respectively, when The Presidents Cup is next held in 2009 at San Francisco’s Harding Park Golf Course.

Two of the most dominant players on the PGA TOUR during the 1980s and 1990s, they have significant experience in the biennial match-play competition. Couples has appeared four times (1994, 1996, 1998, 2005) and Norman three (1996, 1998, 2000).

They follow two World Golf Hall of Famers who captained the past three Presidents Cups — Couples takes over for Jack Nicklaus, who also captained the U.S. in 1998 while Norman, a Hall of Fame member himself, succeeds Gary Player.

“I am absolutely delighted to introduce these two great players as the new Presidents Cup Captains,” said PGA TOUR Commissioner Tim Finchem. “While it may not be easy to replace two legends such as Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player, I know both Fred and Greg step into this role with a strong passion, commitment and desire to continue the outstanding legacy Jack, Gary and all the previous Captains have created for The Presidents Cup.”

The Americans hold an all-time 5-1-1 lead in the competition, and Nicklaus’ teams went 2-1-1 overall. Nicklaus and Player’s final meeting was last September, when the U.S. claimed a 19½-14½ victory at The Royal Montreal Golf Club in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Their most memorable encounter, however, was the first, in 2003 in Player’s homeland of South Africa. It ended in a 17-17 tie after a sudden-death playoff between Ernie Els and Tiger Woods could not determine a winner before darkness descended after three extra holes. In a show of sportsmanship, Nicklaus and Player decided that the competition would be declared a tie and that the teams would share the Cup.

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