NORTON, Mass. – Although the lion’s share of Presidents Cup buzz has focused on U.S. captain Fred Couples – for those who have spent the last few weeks hold up in a Chilean coal mine Capt. Boom Boom’s picks are Tiger Woods and a player to be named later – International skipper Greg Norman also faces some tough choices in the coming weeks.
Currently the easy picks are Geoff Ogilvy, who is 12th on the points list, and Vijay Singh, No. 13. Tim Clark, 11th on the list, is injured and will be one of Norman’s co-captains when the matches are played in November.
Easy, however, is relative. Ogilvy has missed the cut in his last two starts and is in danger of not making it to the third round of the FedEx Cup playoffs; while Singh had struggled for most of this season until posting back-to-back top-5 finishes to start the playoffs.
The trouble for Norman is that of the next eight players on the points list five would be match rookies – although Aaron Baddeley (No. 14) is playing well enough and would be a fan favorite at Royal Melbourne – and of the other two options Rory Sabbatini is not exactly a captain’s vision of clubhouse harmony.
Which leaves Camilo Villegas all the way down at No. 19. He’s on form having finished in the top 10 in his last two starts and could make a solid partner for the likes of Singh. Luckily for Norman, he’s decided to wait until Sept. 26 to make his picks unlike his American counterpart, which means the players may make his decisions for him.